


Forgotten Beginnings and Lost Endings

by Ibelieveinahappilyeverafter



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Based on a Tumblr Post, Character Death, Drabble Collection, F/M, Gen, Ghost King Danny, Iambic Prose, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Multi, Not Phantom Planet Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Phanniemay 2018, Time Travel Fix-It, Worldbuilding Week 2015, Writing on Skin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-05
Updated: 2018-12-19
Packaged: 2019-01-29 16:56:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 24
Words: 48,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12635244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ibelieveinahappilyeverafter/pseuds/Ibelieveinahappilyeverafter
Summary: The stories we love are as well known to us as our most favored bedtime story. We know who lives, who dies, who falls in love with who, and how it all ends. There is nothing in our favorite stories that we do not know… Until there is. Sometimes beginnings can be forgotten and sometimes endings can be lost. They may never be a part of the story the way they should, but that doesn’t meant we can’t appreciate the possibility of what could have been, because, oh. Sometimes a possibility is the strongest thing we will ever face.Unconnected Danny Phantom drabbles and short stories inspired by prompts from both my patrons, my friends, my love, and other various places around the world. At the beginning of each story will be a short description and everything else you need to know about it! So why not check them out and give in to the possibility of what could be?I promise you won’t regret it.





	1. Human

Title: Human  
Fandom: Danny Phantom  
Alternate Universe: Post Canon  
Pairing : None  
Rating : T  
Warnings: Underage Drinking, Depersonalization, Assumed Major Character Death (Nothing explicit or angst worthy, though.)  
Inspired By:  [ The post found here.  
](http://ibelieveinahappilyeverafter.tumblr.com/post/130834871670/daddywhaler)Summary: “I think I am a better ghost than I am a human being.”

**::**

The confession came on a hazy summer morning that saw dawn just barely breaking over the horizon as three friends sat in a bedroom that was too small and held bottles of liquor that tasted too bitter. All three of them had flushed cheeks and glazed eyes, the only sound to be heard an old, dented air conditioning unit that made a rattling sound that was like trailing dots to what had just been said.

A strained laugh was what broke the silence, followed by a slightly hysterical giggle. “Alright, there, ghost boy, I think the alcohol is finally getting to you.” Sam’s own bottle was swinging loosely in her grasp, knees pulled up to her chest and bright purple lipstick faded and worn from the day, chipped nails painted in shades of green lightly tapping against the glass.

“Or maybe it’s not getting to him enough,” Tucker chimed in with another laugh, taking a swig of his own, far more empty bottle. It was cheap and tasted like it was strained through a dirty sock a couple dozen times over, but it made them ignore the exhaustion that dragged them down and dulled the pain of the bruises and scars that covered their bodies.

“Come on, Danny, what even _is_ that? Some movie quote?” Sam took a sip herself, tossing her shirt at Tucker to stop whatever he was about to say. She had shed it near an hour ago, heat too much to care about being in nothing but a short ruffled skirt and a sports bra - it was nothing her friends hadn’t seen before. There had been far too many nights when the blood had flowed freely and they had gagged trying to clean it up, after all. “You’re just as human as you’ve always been.”

“Yeah… Yeah, guess I am.” Danny’s voice was slightly strained, a note of emotion to it he hoped the two couldn’t place, his own bottle already empty as he lightly nudged it with his bare foot. He had drunk it in one go near the start of their night, trying to dull the pain of the wound on his back that had near tore him open. Ghost fighting, he had found, was nothing like he once thought it was.

As he listened to his friends argue and disagree about something trivial - something important? -  he tipped his head to rest against the edge of his old, worn bed, studying the even older glow-in-the-dark stars. The small child who had spent days meticulously arranging them into constellations seemed so far away, at this point. That child seemed like someone completely different.

As he stared, and barely listened, he couldn’t help but be thankful for the alcohol that had dulled his friends’ senses and jumbled his words up into something they could understand instead of what he _had_ said. He had never worried about being less human or about _not_ being human… It was never that, it was just…

He was better as a ghost.

He remembered that the realization had come late one night while carving through the skies, flying over the river and eyes wide at the beauty of it all. Far away from the city the night sky had been bursting with stars, the river below aglow with the reflection of it all, just as bright as the sky itself. It had felt like he had been lost inside a mirror, or another world, and he had realized… He had so much _freedom_.

How many other teenagers, he wondered, could say that they had touched the sky? He had been so close that he had heard the whispered stories of the stars themselves, and had flown through the sky for hours on end, as if nothing could ever trap him down. Once, long ago, he thought flying would be like jumping on a trampoline and simply not falling down. Now he knew it to be something far different.

It was like all the strings that had tethered him down had been severed and he had been left free to glide across the sky. It was like the pressure, and the force, and the _pain_ that had kept him tethered and tied and stuck had vanished and left him free… He was free to go and do whatever he wanted. It was the understanding that came after that that had made him so very afraid.

It was the realization that had made him return to his weak, chained human form, hiding in his room for hours. He was _free_ , free to go anywhere. He could have flown off at anytime he wanted and he could have never come back… Thinking on it, he could see why Danielle hardly ever visited, why she hardly ever left the skies, and why she was always on the move. The second she had tasted freedom she had never returned. She had broken her cage and flown away as fast as possible. With Danny…

He lingered on the edge of his cage, door open wide but never stepping near it.

It was an offhand comment that made him question even more.

 _“Ugh! Sometimes I wonder how you’re ever even_ **_human_ ** _.”_ A tossed insult, a throwaway attempt at a joke, an irritated response at something he had said or done, but still… It had made him think in ways he didn’twant to. _Had_ he ever been human, truly?

It was stupid. To even _think_ something like that, it was _completely_ stupid, and yet… He had grown up in a house that sat on a rift between the living and the dead. The portal hadn’t been built when he was young and born, not yet, but… Amity Park held a rift and an attraction to portals. He lived on the largest rift for fourteen years before it had torn through him and left him half alive and half _dead_.

Was he changed before that, though? Was he ever really - _really_ \- human? He had taken so easy to being a ghost. He had figured out how to change between ghost and human within a month, if that. He had taken to flying as easily as a duck to water. He had discovered power after power after power after _power_ . Most ghosts only had two or three powers like his. He had _so many_. He was an anomaly among both of his kinds.

Was he ever really human? How could he be when he was such a good _ghost_ ? He had his powers for only a year or two and yet he had beat a man with the same powers who had possessed them for _twenty_ . He had beaten decades of experience and wisdom and logic with raw strength and intuition that even _he_ didn’t know the full extent of. Within months of meeting the only other halfa in _existence_ he had matched him par for par. Within half a year, he could hold his own. Within a year, he often _won_.

Him stating that he was a better ghost than a human wasn’t a drunken phrase, but the simple and honest truth. All the times his powers had been suppressed or taken away and what was he? Nothing. He failed even at simple things. He was clumsy, and inept, and could barely get out of bed in the morning without falling over clothes and banging into furniture. But as a ghost - as _Phantom_ \- he was so very different.

Fighting came naturally to him and flying was as second nature as even _breathing_ sometimes. He had faced ghost after ghost over years that had felt like lifetimes and every time he came out as winner in the end. Maybe not at first, maybe not when it was tough and agonizing and he was torn to _shreds_ , but he always won. Damn if he didn’t have the scars to prove it, too.

He had beaten Skulker when his powers had still been new. A hunter who everyone in the Ghost Zone feared or respected and he had _beat_ him. Maybe not alone, but nowadays… There was no ghost that fought him that could _really_ stand up to him.

 _"You don't get it do ya? I'm still here._ **_I still exist_ ** _. That means_ **_you_ ** _still turn into_ **_me_** _."_

As for Dan…

He had destroyed nations and _worlds_ . He had ravaged the Ghost Zone into nothing but shattered wastes and he had laid waste to the human world for _years_. He had destroyed for fun and was seen as invincible and undefeatable, yet Danny had beaten him.

At fourteen.

The last fight between them had just been the two of them. Two ghosts fighting against each other. One against what he could become and another against what he had been. What Danny had always found morbid interest in, though, was how Dan had been half of his _ghost_ self. Had been half _Phantom_. And not only that, but he had been the greater half. The one in control. The one with the powers and the strength.

Yet it was simply _Danny_ who had won. Fenton and Phantom… The lines had blurred so much he wasn’t sure who he was on most days. Sure it was easier when he was with his friends, laughing and arguing and being idiots, friends, and just _kids_. But on nights like these… On nights like these when the exhaustion was clear on his face and heavy in his voice and when the weight of the world dragged him and his thoughts down and drowned them…

He was meant to be a ghost.

Maybe that was why he was now in the basement, Fenton Portal standing in front of him like a noose damning him. Or perhaps it was more like a gift giving him salvation. With dawn truly beginning to break, and the sun once more rising and his friends passed out upstairs… He took a step inside, bare feet skimming against cold, harsh metal, the teen not even phased by the chill. His steps walked a familiar path and his fingers trailed over familiar edges and textures

That was the whole thing about it, though, wasn’t it?

_“What are you? A ghost trying to fit in with humans? Or a creepy little boy with creepy little powers?”_

He wondered if Spectra had meant for that to happen - for those words to get to him so much that years later they still twisted and withered in his head. He wondered if she knew that her words would dig under his skin and send it roiling and bubbling, like fire in his veins - words that came alive and twisted into his nightmares and dreams and dug into him over and over until it felt like they had dug his grave.

A bitter smile took over Danny’s face and he couldn’t help but give a chuckle that echoed and bounced off the metal, making it sound distorted and unearthly- It made him sound _ghostly_.

Fingers paused at feeling smooth plastic, the teen gazing almost absently at the button that rested under his left hand. A hand that still carried the scars of the first time he had been inside and his curiosity had gotten the better of him. Back then, he had gone inside as a joke and came out a twisted punchline that held no humor. In the end, though…

He _was_ a better ghost than a human.

It was simple fact. Simple truth. It was in the times when he glided through the sky for hours with no troubles. It was in every time he fought and his human nature dragged him down and amplified the pain. It was even in every breath he took, the air rattling in his lungs in a way it shouldn’t. He had never been meant for human life. He had never been meant to come down from that high - from that intoxicating feeling of freedom. He was never meant to stay in a cage that was _open_.

It was the feeling of fingers pressing even harder against the button that made him come back to himself, the teen staring at the smooth plastic as if it held the answers to everything- In a way, he supposed it did… He wondered what would happen if he gave up what humanity - what _human nature_ \- he had left.

He wondered what would happen if he left this cage and never came back.

 _Click_.


	2. The King of the Dead

Title: The King of the Dead  
Fandom: Danny Phantom  
Alternate Universe: Post Canon (No Phantom Planet)  
Pairing: None (Can be seen as pre-Iambic Prose)  
Rating: G+  
Warnings: None  
Inspired By: World Building Week 2015 (Day One: Sandbox Characters)  
Summary: Danny Phantom reads a story about Pariah Dark and how the Ghost Zone really attained its first king.

**::**

_What came to be known as the Spirit World first came into existence along with the world that was known to only hold Life. Their existence alone was the first understanding among worlds as it was quickly found out that a world that breeds Life will always have Death following a step behind - slow, steady, and undefeatable._

_The Spirit World, as was later discovered, was another plane of existence that was tethered to the world where Life ran wild and free. When Life's creations grew tired and sought rest, Death was there to greet them with a gentle smile and open arms._

_Spirits have long since been thought of as different than today's ghosts. Once, long ago, ghosts were rare and despised while spirits - creatures born of the Spirit World's very energy - were the ones who controlled and influenced the world. There have been many great spirits in our history, but one ruled above them all. A lone spirit became King. He was a king who sought to seek control of the world of Life as well as Death._

_Pariah Dark was a world born spirit who grew up traveling from place to place and sought to end war and conflict and unite the scattered clans of the afterlife. When he found what he called the Crown of Fire and the Ring of Rage, he believed he had found his opportunity to complete such a momentous task. He combined the crown and ring and with the massive power he had possessed he managed to elevate himself to the position of King._

_He crafted an order of knights to follow him - his Fright Knight being the most loyal and powerful - as well as an army for any who would seek to oppose him. Tales speak of the army being crafted from fallen enemies, but there are no facts to know if this holds any truth. With the power he had found, Pariah united the Spirit World into his new kingdom and ruled from a castle that rested in the center of the world itself._

_An era of peace was upon the world of the dead with Pariah Dark the heart of all the good that could be found in death. Where peace reigns, however, war and strife lurk underfoot. There were rumors of a campaign being created - a crusade that would make the world far more prosperous than it was. With his crown blazing upon his head and his ring shining with light, Pariah called together his subjects of the Spirit World._

_Death, he said, would be the one to now defeat Life._

_Why should they be forced together in this small world when there was another for their taking? Life was young, weak, and so easily crushed. Death was forever old, forever strong, and unable to be defeated. He spoke of a war to put all wars to shame. A crusade of taking a world for their own, of making the Spirit World into the Spirit Kingdoms._

_One spirit spoke up in disagreement of this crusade, however. A spirit who spoke with absolute truth and said that Life would never be defeated. As long as Death was present then Life would be as well. Death and Life were sides of a coin that could never be separated, no matter how hard one tried._

_Pariah called the spirit out, accusing him of being weak and unable to see the glory of what could be._

_The spirit called Pariah a fool and warned him of his madness and how Time would catch up to him when he least expected._

_The King of Spirits paid no mind to the lone spirit and continued on his path of war and destruction. With the powers he held, he formed a portal to the world of the living with an army to end all armies under his command. His knights were behind him with bended knees and admiration in their gaze._

_The one who had become the King of the Dead had not managed even one step into the portal before he had an ancient and powerful staff at his throat and a threat that Time had caught up_

_The battle that followed destroyed the World of Spirits has it had been known and shattered the continents into floating islands. It dried up oceans, decimated forests, and destroyed deserts until the land was forever changed_

_As the fight raged, one by one, ancient spirits began to stir. Beings as old as the world looked upon the destruction and the grief that was wrought and joined the fight against Pariah._

_Pariah Dark's armies were shattered and his knights locked away and buried to where none would dare find them again. For Pariah, however, a worse punishment was made. For daring to think he could control Death and for attempting to take over the Land of the Living his crown and ring were taken and scattered to the ends of Time and Space. He himself was locked into a sarcophagus._

_This was the worst punishment that he could ever be given. While it was made to keep his body forever asleep and his powers dormant, it would keep his mind forever awake. Pariah Dark would be forced for thousands of years to think over what he had done._

"Depressing." Closing the messily bound manuscript he had been reading, Danny Phantom couldn't help but stifle a laugh to himself. Leave it to the Ghostwriter to write Ghost Zone history and have the first chapter alone end in such a depressing-

"It's also something that's not finished yet." Freezing up at the tone that was colder than any shard ice Danny would ever be able to make, he cautiously looked over his shoulder to see a sternly frowning Ghostwriter.

"Aw, come on, GW." Right, damage control time. "I'm sorry I didn't ask your permission to read it first, but your writing is just so  _amazing_ -"

"Save it, you brat. Don't you have homework you should be doing?" While Danny grumbled and complained about slave labor and child abuse as he flew deeper into Ghostwriter's library, Ghostwriter waved a hand gleaming in purple energy at the manuscript, teleporting it away. "Honestly, no sense of propriety or decency."

Following after the half ghost at a more leisurely pace, Ghostwriter couldn't help but to smile as he shook his head. Perhaps he should let Danny read it again when he was finished - it seemed he had only read the introduction, really. There was so much more history to delve into when it came to Pariah Dark alone.

It would be interesting, Ghostwriter supposed, to see Danny's reaction when he read the final chapter of the soon-to-be book. The last chapter was the one that dealt with the successor to the King of the Dead - a battle-tested spirit born of both Life and Death and had united the worlds in a way that hadn't been seen since the beginning of the First King.

A successor that was currently complaining about homework and still had the innocence of youth hidden away in his eyes.

Ghostwriter believed it would be a good story.


	3. Puppy

Title: Puppy

Alternate Universe: Iambic Prose Ghost King AU (Danny age ~17)

Pairing: Novan/Randy, Background Iambic Prose

Rating: T

Summary: In the aftermath of Danny Phantom becoming the new King of the Ghost Zone, Randy takes on more than he should when it comes to helping everything get settled. Considering how ragged he's running himself, drastic times call for drastic measures. Andrew may cheat a little when it comes to bringing in someone who can get Randy to finally rest.

**::**

"No- No, you know what, no. You need rest! As King of the Spirit World I am giving you an official command and kingly declaration order that you need to go and get some rest!"

"Really, now?" Crossing his arms, Randy spent a full five seconds staring down at Danny, raising an eyebrow when absolutely nothing happened. "Must not have been that serious of an order-"

" _Randy_." Sighing as their 'all mighty King' began whining, Randy moved forward to pat at the top of his head, careful of the crown that glowed with icy fire. He had learned last time just how cold that thing was to touch and Danny's wild laughter had made him close to making sure there was a new king that day. "I'm serious! We've been doing all of this for almost a month and I don't think I've seen you  _eat_ let alone get any sleep."

"I'm a ghost, I don't need to eat or sleep." Oh, that was such a lie that even Danny looked entirely unconvinced. Andrew had probably told him to bother Randy, thinking about it. "Why don't you go bother Andy about this? He needs sleep just as much-"

"Oh, I made sure he got sleep last night." Another bout of silence filled the air, Randy trying not to laugh as Danny began blushing at realizing what he had said. "I mean- I didn't- Get your mind out of the gutter!"

"Hey, I didn't say anything." Randy raised his hands peacefully, unable to stop at least a little laugh. "I'm okay, Danny. This is all important, right? It had to get done. Besides, we know that you're not good at paperwork and if we let Andy do it then we'd never see him again."

Danny still didn't look convinced. That meant Randy was going to have to pull out the big guns. "Come on, frérot." Hah, Danny was already crumbling. "I'm your big brother too, now, and that means it's my job - and pleasure, might I add - to look after you two idiots. You're still recovering from forming and Andrew is still recovering from the fight. You both still need rest."

"You make it sound like you don't." Even with the pouting and huffing, it was clear to see that Randy had very much won the argument. Ah, victory was sweet. "Royal advisor probably isn't even a real job."

"Yes it is. I made it up so you can't get rid of me." Smiling at the laugh, Randy pulled Danny into a one-armed hug. "Come on, petit mec, I'm fine. It takes a lot more to get rid of me than some paperwork."

"Fine, fine, I admit defeat." Danny's smile started to fall, Randy feeling the waves of worry and concern that swirled around him and mixed with fondness and care. He was going to be such a good king. "Just… Try to take it a little bit easier, okay? You've barely left the castle since we got here."

"In case you hadn't noticed, Pariah really did a number on the place,  _someone_ has to stick around and fix it all." Besides, it was hell trying to deal with all the ghosts moving into the castle and claiming they wanted work and safety from what else might be lurking out in the world. Princess Dorathea was an utter  _gift_ right now, really. "I'll only do what I think I can handle. Promise."

"Fine, fine." Returning the hug he was given, Randy patted at Danny's back, finally letting his smile fall. Danny and Andrew… Randy couldn't save them from what had happened when Pariah truly broke free, but he was sure as hell going to help in the aftermath of this hell. He could handle getting everything started while these two rested.

"It'll be fine, Danny." And damn if that wasn't a lie that Randy would go down telling no matter what it took. Already he knew he was wearing himself thin, but… He could do this for just a bit longer.

::

Randy had managed to get away with another two weeks of work before Danny and Andrew both were trying to track him down and get him to stop and rest. Really, he  _had_ had bouts of sleep here and there. Somewhat. Now, though, thanks to a rather detailed escape plan already set up, the two were now chasing after nothing throughout the castle while Randy calmly worked in his office.

God, he still had so much to do. There was the census of all the ghosts that needed to be done - mostly at the human governments' proposal - there was the Regrowth project Danny wanted to start to heal the Spirit World, there were all the ghosts still coming in, and then there were the clans that frequently visited in order to ally themselves with the new king.

Frostbite and his lot were only the first of many of Ghost Zone clans, and they had been the first to pledge their loyalty to the King. There were still over two dozen left out there and really, Randy should know, he had near seen them all at one point- Ah, Danielle's latest letters about the clan leaders she had met. She was such a good choice for meeting the clans and talking to them. No one knew she was a threat until she was pushed.

"I guess that answers my question on whether or not you've been taking it easy in all of this mess." Hm? Someone was talking? Well, it wasn't Danny or Andrew yelling at him, so Randy didn't much care at the moment- Ah, there were the papers on the taxes- Why were they doing taxes? It wasn't even proper taxes, it was mostly just trying to find an official way to deal with the marketplace instead of it seeming so… Okay, so the marketplace was basically a black market, but they could work on that! Maybe! "You're not hearing a word I'm saying, are you?"

Shoo, annoying ghost, Randy had work to do. Where had all these papers come from? There were suddenly a lot more papers than he remembered. "He's been like that for the last few days, now. It's worse." Ah, Andrew had found him. "Do something."

"You make it sound as if he'd actually listen to what I tell him." That was a very familiar voice, now that Randy was starting to pay attention. Why did that voice sound so familiar?

"Oh, I like this guy. Still don't know who he is, but I  _like_ him." Danny. Andrew and Danny both had found him- Why did they seem so amused? Randy wasn't sure if he liked those two when they were amused like this. It usually meant bad things for him. "Andy says you know him. Think you can help?"

"Maybe." Really, that voice- Ah, there were arms around his shoulders and he didn't quite like that. It was stopping him from working. Why were there- "C'mon, puppy, not even you can do all of this on your own."

Realization hit just as Andrew and Danny both started laughing themselves sick. Looking back, Randy wasn't sure if he was blushing or paling at seeing it was  _Novan_ wrapped around him and ah- Ah, that was not good- That was a very not good thing right now. "Did- He- Did he just call you-" Ah, Randy hadn't hallucinated that part. Okay, blushing it was then.

"Got him to finally pay attention, didn't it?" Novan's grin was far too sharp - what could he expect from the leader of the clan of animal shifting ghosts - and there was not a shred of remorse showing. "I missed you-"

"Bullshit." Novan didn't 'miss' Randy. He came and dragged Randy away when he thought he had been gone too long. "Who put you up to this? It was Taylor- No, I bet it was Lizzie and Shelly."

"It was Isabelle, actually."  _Bullshit_. "She thought our clan should go and make nice with the new king, and guess who got chosen to go?"

"You mean guess who threatened everyone to let him go," Randy grumbled, unable to stop his smile as Novan pulled him closer and kissed at his neck. "So you're here to make a clan truce, basically."

"I mean, that's the second reason. The real reason is that you've been gone for weeks and the last thing I heard was that you went up against Pariah." A-Ah. The arms around him no longer felt quite as welcoming.

"I was going to come and visit?" Randy glanced over to the idiots who were still laughing themselves sick - even if they had managed to force themselves to look polite and curious. "You're terrible."

"You should have visited me sooner." Whining as his chair was pulled back and he was pulled away from his paperwork, Randy glared up at Novan only to pause at the expression. He… He had really worried Novan this time, hadn't he?

"I really did mean to visit." Because Novan was about as important to him as Danny and Andrew were and he usually made sure to visit Novan as often as he could. With everything that had happened, though… "I was just… I-"

"You were being you." Novan's laugh was quiet, words even more so as he kissed below Randy's ear, drawing a shudder from him. "Come on, puppy, come and rest with me for a while."

"I hope you know what you've done by calling me that stupid name in front of these two," Randy muttered, letting himself be pulled up and away from his work.

"Think of that as your punishment." Novan dragged him in close, giving him a kiss that was very effective in shutting Randy up and very,  _very_ effective of conveying the promise hidden within it. "Hey, Ghost King, I'm stealing your advisor for a while."

"Dude, take him." Danny raised his hands, shit-eating grin still on his face. "Maybe you can teach your 'puppy' some manners- Hey!"

"You had that coming to you." Ah, at least Andrew was on his side. Besides, Danny would be perfectly safe in one of Randy's bubble shields. Even if it was rather small. "Novan. Keep him for the next week at least."

The snort Novan gave was utterly  _feral_ , Randy not even able to feel amusement at such a fact before a hand on the back of his neck was pulling him in again for another kiss. "Yeah, it's gonna be a bit longer than that."

"Promises, promises," Randy teased, shuddering as Novan's feelings came across very clear when he kissed him again.

"Get a room!"

"With pleasure."


	4. Never The Type (To Be In Love)

Title: Never The Type (To Be In Love)

Alternate Universe: Iambic Prose Established Relationship (Danny age ~17)

Pairing: Iambic Prose

Rating: G+

Warnings

Inspired By: Patron Request

Summary: A short snippet from Andrew's POV with him doting on his precious mate and thinking how amazing he truly is.

::

_Gasping and heaving for breath after the attack, Nicolai could only stare in horror at what had been done to his friend. Where before there had been shimmering wonder and hope in those sharp eyes, now there was only darkness and hatred. His sweet Ashley, torn apart by pieces and put back in a way that should have never been… He couldn't let this stand._

" _Ashley. I won't let him win." Staggering to his feet, Nicolai hissed and clutched at his side where the pain was still sharp and intense, shaking as he forced himself to meet those dark eyes. "Please… Trust in me." Just one last time. One last time was all he needed._

 _Grabbing the staff that had fallen with him, Nicolai brought it up and_ -

"Is this the dramatic fight scene?" Andrew would later deny any and all accusations that he did something as immature as  _squeaking_ at hearing Danny's voice from behind him. Truthfully he had, but denial tended to work out well enough in his life. "You're adorable."

"Hush now, mon cher, no need to talk about yourself like that." Mm. So much for finishing the pivoting point of that novel today, then. Although night didn't count as day, really. "How was school?"

"Horrible." Lips twitching into a smile, Andrew watched as his mate sat on the arm of the couch and collapsed backwards, groaning and whining as he completely blocked any and all attempts for Andrew to reach his laptop. He would have been more upset if it wasn't so cute. "Andy! My teachers are all so mean!"

"Oh? Is that a new way to say incompetent?" Saving his work - Danny truly had inspired the wisdom of saving and making backup copies - Andrew set his laptop aside on the table and properly pulled Danny into his lap. "What happened today?"

"What  _didn't_ happen!" Really, Andrew tried his best to listen along to Danny's rant, but it was so hard to do when he was so easily distracted. As always, Danny was a blur of motion and energy, legs kicking as he told his story and arms waving throughout the air as if he trying to paint the words as easily as Andrew wrote them.

The teen was in his human form today, but his eyes still shone as bright as any spirit's, the blue glistening like a sea at the brightest point of the day- Oh, goodness. He really had fallen far if he was comparing Danny's eyes to sea. Love had never much been something he was interested in and now here he was waxing cheesy poetry - quite literally at times to his dismay - about Danny's eyes. Perhaps he should make an effort to listen to whatever it was Danny was saying.

"-and oh my god  _Dash_ of course had to be the 'perfect student' and  _he_ was the one that started that fight in the cafeteria this time! It was so-" Mm, nothing too important, then. Hm. It was always so interesting how Danny's skin was paler in his human state. Perhaps it was a random reaction. There were still parts of the portal they had never understood, especially when it came to Danny's powers.

Shifting the teen further into his lap, Andrew easily wrapped his arms around Danny, kissing at the junction between his neck and shoulder, delighting in the way Danny's words stuttered before he managed to continue. His sweet mate was far too adorable, truly.

"-even listening to me!" Oh, Danny had finally noticed Andrew was ignoring him. Wrapping around him tighter, Andrew moved to kiss at the corner of Danny's lips, smiling at the blush it earned him.

"Of course. You were ranting about the school establishment and how much you would like to burn it to the ground, I believe?"

"Ghostly wail it, but close enough." As the teen went near boneless, Andrew rolled his eyes as he tucked Danny under his chin, nuzzling against the top of his head. There was the faintest hint of peppermint that reminded him of winter. No doubt it was due to the boy's ice powers. "Why can't I run away to the Ghost Zone?"

"Because your friends and family would miss you, you deserve the chance at a college education, and I would never let you go if you ran away to me." Andrew kissed at the cheeks that were steadily growing redder, a hand slipping down to rest at Danny's side. "Danny…" Waiting until the teen's full attention was on him, Andrew grinned and flexed his hand. "You got distracted."

And, really… Of all the things to change in his life, Andrew never would have expected to learn that  _he_ was the one that initiated tickling attacks. It was hardly his fault, though, when Danny gave such beautiful reactions. The teen was already squirming and writhing against him, shrieks and cries of laughter escaping as his face scrunched up with the force of his laughs. "An- Andy!"

"What's that? Even more? Well, if you insist." A quick twist - and maybe the use of his ghost powers - and Andrew was straddling Danny and pinning him to the couch, mercilessly attacking every spot he knew. The laughing grew even louder, Andrew finally letting up when he saw the teen's ghost features slipping through bit by bit.

Pinning Danny's wrists to the couch, Andrew watched as Danny heaved and gasped for breath, slowly getting control of himself. His cheeks were blotchy and red with faint traces of blue and there were tears at the corner of his swirling green-blue eyes as he shook, body slowly settling back down into its human state. Andrew probably shouldn't find that so cute, but he had admitted his obsession to Danny long ago. "Wha- What was that for?"

"You're no longer thinking of destroying your school," Andrew pointed out, kissing at Danny's cheek before nuzzling the spot. "Je t'aime, mon cher." Ah, it was always so easy to revert to the language he grew up on when it came to showing Danny affection. Mostly due to the fact Danny always had the most  _delightful_  reactions to the use of the language.

"J-Je t'aime aussi, mon ange." And, alright. Andrew could admit he might have appreciated Danny speaking his language more than he should have. "Weren't you in the middle of a scene?"

Ah, he had been. Even now a few of his thoughts were centered on the scene he had stopped in the middle of, the battle still moving in his mind and his laptop was right there so it would be easy to open it and get wrapped back up in those worlds- But, ah… He didn't need to do that quite as much anymore.

"I was, but I believe this is better." Andrew had never been the type to see himself in love, but he couldn't say that it didn't suit him.


	5. Sleep

Title: Sleep

Alternate Universe: Established Iambic Prose (Danny age ~17)

Pairing: Iambic Prose

Rating: T

Warnings: coma, hospital, angst, and (assumed) character death / It's not a fun story.

Inspired By: Prompt (20. "You need to wake up because I can't do this without you."

Summary: An unexpected car accident leaves Danny in the hospital with all of his secrets revealed, Andrew uncaring of that and more on how Danny isn't waking up. It's not right. He could survive a fight with the Ghost King, but this is what gets him? No, Andrew wasn't moving until Danny woke up.

::

"Ghostwriter. Danny wouldn't want you like this and you know it." Hmph. Annoying children. As if they had any say in what Danny would want of him.

Andrew Riter, known to most as the Ghostwriter, stayed silent and continued to sit at the end of Danny's hospital bed, curled up with his legs crossed underneath him and his hands braced against his ankles. His gaze was trained on the sleeping teenager with focused intensity and oh, no, he would not be looking away until his precious little idiot woke up.

There was a quiet sigh from one of the humans in the room, Andrew just barely registering it. "GW-" Don't call him that, only Danny was allowed to call him that. "-it's been two weeks. Danny will wake up, we know he will. He's too stubborn not to, but you can't keep sitting here all the time and never  _leave_. What do you think he's going to do when he learns that you never left for  _weeks_ , not once? He'll probably feel pretty guilty, don't you think?"

How inane. They thought basic psychology tactics of guilt were going to get to him? Please. Andrew didn't dignify their drivel with a response, not saying a word or moving an inch until the humans were gone from the room. Only then did he allow himself to speak.

"You're very troublesome, you know." There was no response from the comatose Danny, Andrew not having expected one. "Ghost fighting is one thing, but to get this bad from a  _car crash_? Now, that's just ridiculous, mon cher, even for you."

Insulting. It was more insulting and vile than Andrew had words for. There hadn't been some epic ghost fight, no big battle to save humanity, not even the run-of-the-mill ghost battling. No… No, it had been Danny on the wrong end of a drunk driver. Andrew's only consolation was that the drunk had died on impact. Danny, however…He believed Danny had suffered far worse.

Even if the teen woke up, there was no telling how the hit had affected his body, his ghost powers, or even his  _mind_. There were so many possibilities and none of them seemed like good ones. At least there was a chance he would retain most of his powers since the hospital staff and Fentons had found out rather quickly about Danny's… Well, about this condition.

Secrets had been coming undone at the seams in moments after it had happened and Andrew had only taken a seat on Danny's bed and refused to move. Doctors, nurses, the Fentons, Jazz, Danny's friends, even  _Randy_. No one could get him to move and he would like to see them  _try_.

Ghosts didn't  _need_ sleep, or food, or any human necessities. They didn't need to leave the bed of a loved one in trouble. And while Danny may not have been his main obsession, he was so much more.

It was three weeks before the pitiful doctors started losing hope, and the faithless adults started growing fearful of the final outcome. Jazz, Sam, Tucker, and Valerie were the only ones to remain hopeful, sweet children they were, insisting that Danny was far too ridiculous and stubborn to let something like a silly car crash keep him down for long. Besides, think of the puns he'll be able to use when he woke up! They were sweet, but there were looks in their eyes that told Andrew they weren't children any longer.

Four weeks and Andrew had memorized the count of the tiles on the floor, the number of objects in the room, and all the time tables of the doctors and nurses that treated Danny. It was like clockwork- ...Clockwork. Andrew had tried  _there_ when Danny had first been brought in. Of course that hadn't led to much good. Or hope.

Five weeks and Danny looked smaller and weaker than ever, Andrew now having memorized the thread count in all the blankets, and the number of spots in each ceramic tile on the floor. The others visited as often as they could, still, with promises of notes and homework being kept up with, and teachers that would understand when he returned. Andrew had still yet to speak a word, although Randy dropped by as often as he could, telling him wild stories of all the places he had been exploring in the Ghost Zone and promising to take Andrew and Danny with him as soon as the other was better. Even Vlad dropped in to sit in silence with the two for a while before leaving.

Six weeks and Andrew had finally moved, changing positions to where he was laying on his side beside Danny, curled around him protectively and eyes half lidded, quietly talking to him when the room was empty. Talking and telling him stories that he had thought about writing, tales he had been told as a child, books the other would have to read when he woke up, anything and everything he could think of.

No one made a comment on his changed position, and the nurses and doctors only effortlessly worked around him, Andrew noticing that every so often one would throw a blanket over him as well. It was a nice gesture, he supposed. Futile, ridiculous, and ineffective, but… It was kind.

Seven weeks and Andrew had fallen silent, even when alone with Danny, the man refusing to pay attention to anything anyone said, or move his gaze from the top of Danny's head. He heard vague reports from doctors about Danny's chances, and how he would, most likely, never…

Eight weeks and Andrew's eyes had closed, the only proof he was still with them was the beating of his core, and the fact he had yet to fade. He kept one arm wrapped around Danny's waist and one hand clasped with the teen's own. He didn't even notice when his brother had finally phased his coat and shoes off, setting them by Danny's scarf for when they both woke up.

Nine weeks and Andrew spoke one last time, voice quiet and cracked from disuse, and tone absolutely broken and shattered. " _You need to wake up because I can't do this without you._ " The room was still with nothing but moonlight to light the room, curtains fluttering in the summer breeze as a twinkling of stars could just barely be seen. " _Please, Danny...I can't do any of this without you._ "

There was no response from the sleeping half ghost.

There was only silence and quiet breathing.


	6. Visit

Title: Visit

Alternate Universe: Iambic Prose Established Relationship (Danny age ~17)

Pairing: Iambic Prose

Rating: T

Inspired By: Patron Request

Summary: Maddie and Jack are finally allowed to visit Ghostwriter's lair. Andrew isn't very pleased and Danny is enjoying it far too much.

::

"Mon cher, I'm not sure how good of an idea this is." Andrew could freely admit that there were quite a few things he would do for his sweet mate and the list was ridiculously extensive at this point in his life, but this? This was pushing it even for him. "You do remember when your  _friends_ visited, don't you?"

"Yeah, and that went great!" The harsh sounds of strings being plucked in a discordant rhythm had Andrew struggling to hide a wince at the awful, grating sounds that blasted through his head. Vidya was just as upset as him, it seemed. "C'mon, it'll only be for an hour or two. They've been in the Ghost Zone before, so they won't be weird about things!"

"Mon cher-" Ah, Andrew couldn't do it. He couldn't say no when Danny was hovering in front of him with such an earnest, innocent expression on his face. Oh, Andrew could say no and Danny would accept it, but even that thought rubbed him the wrong way. "I suppose having your parents visit Vidya for an hour or so won't be too bad."

"Yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I promise you won't regret it!" Andrew barely had time to register the sensation of chapped lips catching on his own before Danny was off in a show of speed and strength that still left him breathless some days. Taking a deep breath, Andrew had to keep himself from wincing as the screeching notes played in his head once more.

"I know, Vidya, I know." Placing a palm against one of the library walls, Andrew felt his lips tug into a smile at the unique sense of energy he felt pulse into him. "This is important to all of them. You know how scared Danny was about letting them know his secret." That had been a few weeks that Andrew had never wanted to go through again.

Still. Danny was starting college, his friends were settling into the lives they would one day lead, peace had been made with Plasmius, and the Fentons, all of them, had been told everything. All the way back to the beginning in that small science classroom where three young college students had dared to dream of the impossible. There were now no longer any secrets between the Fentons. Andrew had been so proud… Terrified, of course, but so  _proud_. "I'm willing to put myself through far too much for his sake."

Vidya's light, airy plucking showed she very much agreed, irritation fading away into a warm sense of amusement that reminded him of a warm hand ruffling his hair and the smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. "Just an hour or two." Jack and Maddie knew him as Andrew Riter, Danny's high school tutor and boyfriend, but… They were only recently coming to learn of the Ghostwriter.

It would be fine. Just a brief tour around Vidya so they could see how an average ghost's lair looked, maybe a small lunch, and then the two would be back to their lab. What was the worst that could happen?

::

"I'm… I'm not sure how comfortable I feel right now." Staring at the two jump-suited figures fawning over every inch of Vidya, Andrew glanced to the jump-suited figure that remained at his side. "Their reactions very much remind me of someone else, you know."

"I was not this creepy about it." Oh, good, Danny seemed to be regretting this decision himself. Maddie and Jack, at least, looked like they were enjoying themselves - especially so when it came to sticking their hands through things to see themselves phase through it. "Hey, how come that never happens when I'm around here in human form?"

"A sense of will, I would imagine." Oh, good. Danny's confused look meant Andrew could focus more on teaching than whatever the other two were up to. He didn't want to  _know_ what Jack and Maddie were doing. "When you're in Vidya, you feel completely safe, yes?" At the nod, Andrew smiled. "You react to that by  _allowing_ yourself to be physical so you can interact with everything. I imagine in other places, your constant sense of danger being everywhere makes it so you can't relax yourself as much."

"Hey! I-" Danny paused, mouth shutting with an audible little click. "I can't really argue on that, can I?" Withholding a laugh, Andrew quickly brushed his lips across Danny's cheek before walking over to check on the two humans in his lair.

"You have such an amazing collection, Andrew!" Ah, he wasn't surprised she had found the science books - or perhaps it would have been more accurate to say that the science books had found her. "Some of these are even recently published!"

"Vidya tends to work a little differently than most libraries." Yes, Andrew bought a large amount of the books himself, but some of them… Well, it was best to let Vidya have her own secrets. "If-" Deep breath, Riter. This was Danny's family. "If you want to borrow a few-"

"Really?" Ah, so that's where Danny had got his excited expression from. He would have sworn it would have come from Jack, but Maddie's smile was so much like the same one Andrew had first seen on Danny when offering the same. It made him much more sure of his decision.

"Just please be careful with them. They're not as fragile as some books since they soak up the energy of Vidya, but I'd still rather not have them damaged."

"I'll take the utmost care of them." Yes. Maddie was a good woman to trust. Jack… Andrew would wait a bit longer to form an opinion on Jack. Maybe a few decades longer. "You know, I've heard Jazz mention a few of the more  _ghostly_ books."

Sighing, Andrew held up his hand, his aura swirling around to gather in his palm before he threw it out to gather the books he needed, allowing Vidya to guide him to the correct selections. A moment of focused thought and a few dozen were floating around their heads, Andrew glancing them all over with a nod. "These I would prefer to not leave Vidya, but you're welcome to look at them as much as you like."

Setting the books down gently across an assortment of tables, Andrew was utterly unsurprised to see Maddie and Jack almost tackle the poor things. Maybe he should… "Relax, Andy. They'll be careful." Ah. The need to jealously guard his books was already lessening, Andrew shifting to reposition his weight and lean back into the young man wrapped around his shoulders. "I didn't think you'd show them the ghostly books, though."

"Yes, well." All of Andrew's attention was entirely caught. It was so easy to get caught up in Danny's entire being. It wasn't just his appearance - cute as that may be - that attracted him, but the very being of who Danny was. Twisting his hand back to cup one of Danny's cheeks, Andrew shifted just enough to place a kiss to the corner of his lips. It wasn't even a moment before Danny was in front of him and kissing him properly, Andrew amused at the fact he wasn't sure if the younger had teleported or not. "You know, I imagine they'll be quite busy for some time."

"Mhm." Danny's cheeks were already flushed, eyes dazed and entire expression coated with a serene, peaceful look. It had Andrew cupping his cheeks and drawing him back in, kissing him longer and deeper than was probably appropriate with the boy's parents right there. "They probably won't look up for  _hours_."

"Indeed." Sharing the same breath, Andrew had to wonder how easy it would be to just press the teen up against one of the bookshelves and… Ah, his sweet halfa would look so delicious with his skin tone contrasted against some of the darker books in the library.

"I'm sure we could find something to fill up the time with." Studying Danny's expression and taking in a million little details, Andrew mentally sighed and pushed the fantasy to the side. Another time, perhaps. "I have just the idea, too."

Catching the hand that drifted to the low collar of his shirt, Andrew felt himself trying to fight back a smile as he leaned closer. "Cookies?"

"Heck yeah!" He loved this little brat far too much. "C'mon, c'mon, we haven't made any together in ages! Let's go, let's go!" Andrew was left near reeling as Danny pushed himself off of him and shot towards the kitchen with the same speed he always seemed to carry, Andrew's laughter falling into tune perfectly with a short, cheery jingle that weaved through his very thoughts.

"Oui, je t'aime aussi." That was one thing that would never change no matter what secrets came to light, he supposed. He would always love Danny. "You had better not burn my kitchen down!" Leaving Jack and Maddie alone for a few hours wouldn't hurt too much, really. Besides, there were all  _sorts_ of fun things to do in the kitchen.


	7. I Do

Title: I Do

Alternate Universe: Established Iambic Prose (Danny age ~19)

Pairing: Iambic Prose

Rating: G+

Inspired By: Patron Request

Summary: Jazz has a conversation with Andrew when he and Danny are helping her study, some things she already knows coming to light. Still, what kind of psychologist-to-be would she be if she didn't help him realize it himself?

::

"I was once a powerful assassin." Andrew had been  _feared_. Andrew Riter had once been the Priest of Death, the most terrifying ghost story in all of France in his time. "I have history books documenting my missions." There were still people out there who told stories of the Priest that had been sent to collect the souls of the damned. He had been  _feared_  and yet… And yet…

"Mhm, that's nice. What's the answer to number seven?" And yet here he was being used as a 'study buddy' for a twenty-one-year-old's psychology exam. How far the mighty had fallen, truly.

"The uncontrolled stimulus is the customer complaints and the uncontrolled response is the anxiety to those complaints."

"Dammit. It's worded strangely! That's the only reason I've having such trouble with this one!" Jasmine Fenton threw down her practice test papers before crossing her arms and sulking with an expression that matched her brother's perfectly.

"You know, we could have all had a nice day out walking around the mall, but no. Instead we're stuck in your dorm room and helping you study for an exam." Ah, at least Danny was suffering with him, that was the important part of this. "Andy, I'm bored."

"Tell that to your sister." Andrew pulled a stack of flashcards over, looking up at the derisive noise Jasmine made. "What? What's wrong with flashcards?"

"Nothing, they're just not very helpful. Dr. Carpenter is always says that testing is the best way to learn new information and-"

"I don't care what psychology says because there is nothing wrong with flashcards! I passed nearly all my classes using flashcards in my time." There was a snort from Danny that Andrew quickly silenced by pushing the teen off the bed.

"Mhm. Maybe if you tested more you could have passed them all." Jasmine gave a bright, cheery smile and Andrew was sure he had a very undignified expression on his face judging by Danny's snorting and laughing.

"I- You- I'm still older than you!" Yes. That- Great. Great comeback, Riter. Saying something like that was  _certain_ to show off your maturity. "I've been through this all before, I know what going through college is like-"

"Yeah, but you focused on secondary education, right? You probably didn't have any psychology classes past the basic 101 and, well, let's be honest, Andrew. A lot has changed since the 80s. We even have these things called  _cellphones_ now." Whoever said that Jasmine Fenton was a mature and responsible adult was a filthy liar.

"I thought you were supposed to be the adult of us, Jasmine." Andrew threw a flashcard down at a still laughing Danny, pleased when the corner hit him right in the center of his forehead. "You misuse commas."

"You're too flowery in your writing and never seem to use the word said as a descriptor." Did she just- She had! How  _dare_ \- Wait.

"You've read my writing?" As an answer, Jasmine pointed to Danny and, ah, right. Danny. The teen who had read his works dozens of times over even before he knew who the Ghostwriter was. He had such a sweet mate. "Flashcards can still be helpful."

"I never said they  _weren't_ , I just said that testing is  _more_ helpful." Not as helpful as flashcards, but he had little hope of convincing her of that. It was impossible to change a Fenton's mind once they had decided something. "Number ten?"

"Weren't you just on seven?" Looking back to his notes, Andrew flipped through them before slowly nodding. "Your teacher is a fan of example learning, isn't she?"

"Example learning?" Glancing to Danny, the teen was looking at him curiously, eager to learn, and, really… How was Andrew ever supposed to resist?

"I'm sure it has a more technical term, but I was taught that it was called example learning - or teaching, depending on how you view it. It's basically using real world examples and stories to better explain a concept to a class or an individual. You know how I use the ghosts and their lives to explain ghostly concepts to you?"

"Ooh." His smart little mate was adorable. "That's actually a really great way to learn, though, isn't it?"

"It both is and isn't," Andrew admitted, flipping through some of the notes to find the needed information for question ten. "While it can be helpful for adding context to what you're trying to teach, it can also confuse the student if they're not sure  _what_ it is they're supposed to be learning, especially on tests. The examples you use are very important and even then sometimes it's better to stick with a technical definition. Punishment, by the way."

"Knew it!" Jasmine beamed, marking something down on her recovered test papers. "It's a bit hard to tell the difference between that and negative reinforcement."

"Only at the beginning. Remember that your professor said this was the most difficult chapter to learn conceptually."

"That just means it's a challenge." At the far too familiar words and expression Andrew found he couldn't help but to laugh. "What?"

"It's sometimes very easy to tell you two are siblings." The identical pouts only proved his point, truly. "You know I'm right."

"Hush," Jasmine scolded, turning in her chair towards Danny. "Hey, baby brother, weren't you going to grab some snacks? Bring some back?"

"Only if you pay." At the card that was tossed his way, Danny was up and out the door so fast Andrew was half certain that he had used teleportation to do so.

"Now, Andrew, talk to your big sister." There were so many things wrong with that Andrew wasn't even sure where to begin. "You've been around Danny too long. It's obvious there's  _something_ on your mind."

"First of all, never say that again. Ever." 'Big sister'. "Second, I'll always be older than you no matter what. Third, what on earth makes you think I want to talk to  _you_ about something?" Nevermind that he did, he just wanted to know how  _she_ always knew. "Clockwork warned you, didn't he?"

"You really think he would misuse his powers over time-"

"Yes." Suppressing a smile at Jasmine's laughter, Andrew watched her before looking down to the flashcards and flipping through them. "It's nothing important, really."

"Oh? Proposing to my little brother is 'nothing important'?" Hm, it had suddenly just gotten really hot in here. How strange. Andrew should look into that - global warming, probably. Definitely global warming. "You're blushing and not denying anything."

"I- Yes, well, you see… Mm." Terrifying ghost story of France, huh? So much for that visage. Aa, he really was bad at all of this. "Is this the part where I ask you for your blessing?" Feeling the bed dip down, Andrew chanced a glance to where Jazz had sat down beside him.

"I think you did that a few years ago when you started dating him. Happen to remember what I told you then?" Goodness, that had been back when Danny was sixteen- Something he still tried not to put too much thought into. "Come on, it was important sister wisdom."

"I have a good memory, Jasmine, but I don't have perfect recall like my brother." At the elbow to his side, Andrew hid a laugh and instead sighed dramatically. "Something about making him happy?"

"Close." Jasmine's arm linked with his, Andrew noticing she was smiling softly. Warmly. "I said that as long as you two are happy together then I'll always support you. Are you happy?"

"Ridiculously so." Andrew finally felt some tension leave his shoulders that he hadn't even realized was there. "I… He's Danny." That was all he really needed to say, wasn't it?

"Yeah, he is." This was why he and Jasmine had gotten on so brilliantly. She understood just as much as he did how special Danny was - and being half-ghost had nothing to do with it. "You've also been playing with something in your pocket for near the entire time you've been in the room. Also, Randy gave me a heads up."

"I  _knew_ it." Randy had been tormenting him ever since he had accidentally seen the ring Andrew had bought. "He has no concept of privacy!"

"Like most big brothers, then." Hmph. "You know we all approve and that Danny will say yes in a second. Why are you so nervous that you're asking  _me_ for advice?"

"I… I want it to be perfect. He deserves to have it be perfect." At the laugh he heard, Andrew looked up and felt his heart somewhere near the core of the earth. He knew he was a bit sentimental, but…

"Oh, Andrew, I'm not- I'm not laughing at  _you_ , just… This is  _Danny_. Everything you do is perfect in his eyes." It- Well- Not… She might have had a point. A small one. "Andrew, Danny loves you. He's been in love with you since you two started those library study dates."

"They weren't dates at the time," Andrew cleared his throat, rubbing at one of his cheeks that was no doubt a bright purple. "I… He's had it so hard, Jasmine, and I just…" For as many words as he knew and as many ways as he could put them together Andrew had yet to find a way to truly describe Danny and the way he had changed him and all that he wished he could give back to the teen.

"Hey, keep going like this and you're going to psych yourself out," Jasmine patted at his hand, head moving to lay on his shoulder. "Andrew, you could propose to him while lying on the couch at Vidya and he would remember that moment for the rest of his life with nothing but joy and happiness."

"You know, this is supposed to be a lot more dramatic. I'm supposed to be sobbing and a hopeless wreck as I tear my hair out and you scream at me for stealing your precious little brother and-"

"Oh? So as dramatic as when you and Danny got together?" That had Andrew falling silent, memories of that night so long ago fluttering into his mind. They… There had been a thunderstorm and Danny had been crying and ended up confessing and it had felt so… So…

"Oh, Andrew…" Jasmine tucked herself closer, voice quiet, amused, and so  _warm_. "You two are natural together. That's why this conversation feels so easy and why you're stressing out to begin with. It's because it's natural, right? You probably bought the ring before you even realized you wanted to propose." That… She… "It's stressful because you can't believe it feels so right. It's natural. You two were just… You were meant to be."

"Hey, okay, so they didn't have those chips you like, so instead I got… Why is Andy crying what did you do oh my god Jazz I was gone for ten minutes." Was he crying? Andrew brought a hand up to his cheek- Oh, so he was.

"We were having a very serious talk about psychology." Jasmine made no move to get up, Andrew a little grateful for the support as he tried to get himself together. "If any of those snacks have cheese on them I'm kicking you out of my room."

"Kick me out and I keep all this sugar to myself." Danny skipped over in a way that made Andrew  _certain_ that he was flying at points. It ended with him tightly snuggled up against Andrew's side, wiping away the tears that he had missed. "Pretty good bonding day?"

"A rather interesting one, I suppose." Andrew wrapped an arm around both of the Fenton siblings and hugged them close, not wanting to be anywhere else in the world than where he was there and then.

Hm. The box in his pocket didn't feel as heavy.


	8. Father Time

Title: Father Time

Alternate Universe: Canon Complacent

Pairing: Father Time (platonic father/son Danny and Clockwork)

Rating: T

Warnings: minor character death (observants) and reference to torture

Inspired By: Request

Summary: The Observants have taken the Son of Time and Time arrives to remind them why they should have known better.

::

It wasn't often that something happened to truly anger the Master of Time. It was hard to ignite his wrath - and for very good reason. Clockwork had long since learned the lesson of what anger could do and since then he was careful. Too careful, some would say, but nevertheless he knew the weight anger could carry and the destruction it could bring. Last time Clockwork was angry he had defeated Pariah Dark, the King of All Ghosts, and allowed the Ancients to lock him away. His anger had cost a world their king.

What he felt then was but a flickering of a burned out candle compared to what he felt now. His anger was bubbling and boiling and flowing out of him and he did nothing to stop it - let them see what came when one angered Time.

"Stop him! He cannot stop time from within the confines of the Observatory!" The guards of the Observants were naught but ants that were easily crushed underfoot. Clockwork gave no thought to them as they rushed him, only sparing them a look that he was sure held all of his contempt for such creatures. How  _dare they_.

" _Time's_ _ **up**_." The very world shook as Clockwork raised his hand, sigils of power that had long since been forgotten forming under every guard of the Observants and freezing them in place. Runes of power glowing with raw, untempered energy crawled upon their skin where they  _burned_ into the flesh, Clockwork paying no mind to the screams. Let others know what happened when Time was crossed.

"Clockwork!" Fools. Oh, there was no mistake, Clockwork could feel the power that pressed down against him. He could feel the scar under his eye throb with pain and claw into him, a reminder of what he was and what he had done. He paid it no mind. "You will leave-"

"Release him." Clockwork's voice was soft and hardly louder than a whisper, but they heard him. They  _felt_ those words, he was certain. "Release him to me."

"You would do well to remember your  _place_ , Timekeeper. You are meant to serve the Greater Good and Higher Order!" The words were like poison. Poison that had been forced down his throat for an eternity. "Think of this as a gift of new beginnings."

"A gift." Whatever poison they shoved towards him he would burn. Whatever words they told him he would not listen. Whatever  _threats_ they made he would be sure to  _return them_. "A  _ **gift**_." Time itself bowed before his will. These creatures were  _nothing_.

"The boy has proven to be too great a danger! Look at what he has already accomplished? What he has done! He has made you, a neutral party that has never before cared, to break every rule there is and to break-"

"Your control?" Clockwork's laugh was like the growl of a slumbering beast awoken - a beast that should have never been angered.  _Never_. "Master was the one you controlled. I, however, exist outside it."

"You are a Timekeeper as is  _he_. It is up to us to decide what should be done-" A flash of power and Clockwork was in front of the fool who dared speak to him in this moment, lips pulled back in a feral show of teeth. He had never felt the need to allow the more feral instincts of ghosts to take him over, but oh, he would gladly welcome this change today.

"And you are a fool who never learned their place in the world," Clockwork hissed, staff gripped tightly in his hands. "Did you really think I would stand by and do nothing as you took him from me? You thought I would let you hurt my  _son_ without ever even raising my voice?"

"He is not your son, Clockwork. He is a project of yours that has  _failed_ -" Clockwork was holding the core of the Head Observant before he was even aware he had moved- Oh, maybe he should be more accurate. He was holding the  _crushed_ core of the Head Observant.

"'To watch and never act'." Power crackled beneath his skin and Clockwork knew it would be  _so easy_ to let go and watch this world burn for what it had done to them both. "You saw wrong."

"You  _dare_ -" His beloved time staff changed with only a thought, Clockwork holding up a wicked sharp point of a rapier to the eye of the Observant who had spoken. The fear pleased him.

"Did you not see this outcome, oh powerful watchers? Did you not see the result of your foolish plans? Did you not  _see_ as I tore your work down to  _nothing_ and made the worlds forget you were ever  _here_?" A flash of movement and Clockwork jerked his gaze to where one of them had tried to flee.

What a mistake.

::

The Observatory, an ancient and long-standing place of judgement and control, crumbled to nothing as Clockwork traveled through the halls. Stones crumbled, doors fell to ash, and metal rusted until it was near nothing. Clockwork cared nothing for the screaming of pain and joy both as Observants died and prisoners went free.

One of the last bastions of power within the Ghost Zone - within the Spirit World - faded and crumbled to nothing, Clockwork feeling the hundreds of secrets within disappearing one by one. He hoped there was peace finally found for his Master in the wreckage he had created, but he could only spare a passing thought to that before he found what had truly brought him to this place.

"Oh, Daniel." A fifteen-year-old Danny Fenton was curled up in a corner of a locked dungeon, the bars already falling to pieces as Clockwork approached. The child - for he truly was still a child - looked at him in fear and hope that had been broken too many times. Clockwork couldn't stop the overwhelming pain that stole his breath away.

There had been a reason Clockwork had never sought to interfere and had never formed bonds with others. His master had seen it and warned him, but he had never understood until he had paid the price- The Master of Time was not as unfeeling as many claimed. No… The problem was that he felt too much.

Staff -  _sword_ \- gently laid upon the ground, Clockwork entered the room, stones and bricks crumbling even as he approached Danny as closely as he dared. "Daniel, it's me, Clockwork. Can you hear me?" Glowing chains bound him to the wall, a mere thought beginning their destruction starting with where they were chained to the now missing wall. Danny only used his newfound freedom to curl up even more, fear in his eyes and heart trembling before him. Clockwork was tempted to slip back into time if only so he could make the Observants suffer even  _more_ for what they had done.

"Oh, Daniel." He could barely stand the sight of his son shaking before him- And he was. Danny was  _his_ son. No matter what the worlds said or those within them claimed, Danny was as much his as he was the Fenton's. Even before the portal and Clockwork had given him his powers, Danny had always been his in some odd way. The Observants were fools to think they could steal the Son of Time and live. "Ssh, it's alright, Daniel, it's okay now."

Clockwork took a breath and felt his core vibrating within him, a low, deep thrumming sound echoing in the air and drowning out the screams of the world. As the chains crumbled off of Danny's wrists, Clockwork watched as white rings sprung up around his waist. Clockwork had his arms open before Danny even moved, catching the teen and holding him close at the higher pitched thrum that sounded like the wail of a child.

Curling around him, Clockwork held Danny close, soothing him with the ghostly thrumming and exaggerating his breathing so Danny could try to match their breathing up and slow his own. His poor child. "It's alright, Daniel, I've got you. You'll be okay."

There was a muffle of words pressed against his chest, Clockwork managing to pry Danny back enough to hear that they were  _apologies_ , words hiccuped through tears and thrums that wouldn't stop. Clockwork felt his heart break all over again. "-wouldn't stop and tried to explain and they didn't listen and what if they're right what if I really do become  _him_  and I was so  _angry_ -"

"You're not the only one," Clockwork chuckled, pleased when the wry humor got a hiccuping cough rather than more apologies. "You will never be him."

"I was." Oh, Daniel. How did this child not see what Clockwork had worked so hard to show him? Pulling the teen back again, Clockwork held him close, gloved fingers pressing sigils and runes against torn open and bleeding skin that patched together as if the wounds had never existed. "If I was once, I could be again-"

"Dan was anger, hatred, wrath, and jealousy that formed under circumstances that were never again repeated in any timeline. Dan was an oddity - a mistake - that you conquered by conquering yourself. It will never come to pass, Daniel.  _Never_."

The sobs returned stronger than ever, Clockwork merely holding Danny through it and knowing that this time it was out of relief more than distress. Keeping up his thrumming, Clockwork didn't stop until Danny was lulled into a state that was calmer and softer, body still giving the occasional shakes and shudders as his breathing adjusted.

Danny's own thrumming had drifted off into quiet purrs, core vibrating and radiating a sense of peace that Clockwork had almost thought it would never feel again. Smiling, Clockwork relaxed his hold a small amount before brushing a hand coated with energy down Danny's spine. Clockwork watched as the teen shivered, eyes already drooping as he looked up to Clockwork, the beginning of fear- "Shush, Daniel. It is nothing more than a mild sedative to relax you and allow you to sleep. No nightmares will follow you to where you go and when you awake you will be safe. None of this will follow you."

A part of him feared his words would be ignored, but instead Danny only closed his eyes at once, entire posture trusting as he curled into Clockwork's warmth. Smiling softly, Clockwork shifted enough to wrap his cloak around Danny, tucking him close and picking up the now once again time staff. "You sweet child." Danny had always been far too trusting. Clockwork would work to make it stay that way.

As Time left with his son, the Observatory that had been a fixture of the Spirit World since the beginning crumbled to nothing more than rubble. Secrets died before they could be spoken and power was lost that would never be regained. Those who escaped would spread the stories of Time's anger throughout the worlds and the ones who had bore the brunt would never again forget their crimes and their foolishness.

How foolish… Did they not know that Time would never forgive the sins that rested upon them? Did they not realize that Time did not  _forget_? Well… They would never forget again.

Time would make sure of it.


	9. Wednesday Drabble - First Meeting

Title: Wednesday Drabble: First Meeting

Alternate Universe: Canon Complacent (Danny Age ~16)

Pairing: Pre-Iambic Prose (Ghostwriter x Danny)

Rating: T

Inspired by: Wednesday Drabble

Summary: Danny, attempting to get back technology Technus stole from Fenton Works, is startled by the new ghost he meets. The guy works for Plasmius, fights with knives, and seems kind of badass. Why has Danny never met him before?

::

" _On a scale of Skulker to Box Ghost how much satisfaction are you going to get out of beating Technus to a pulp?_ "

"Walker after he's not a threat," Danny replied instantly, eyes narrowed as he watched the building in front of him carefully. Of course Technus' lair would like like the domain of a mad scientist with little regard for human life. "I'm going to kick his ass, guys."

" _Hey, no need to take your poor grades out on the science ghost. C'mon, maybe you should give him a chance. You two might get along!_ " Sam was barely able to get her words out through static bursts of snorting laughter, Danny sighing as he touched down onto the rocky island. No alarms going off, yet.

"You know, you probably shouldn't encourage me to bond with the ghosts that are concerned with world domination." That and Technus had  _really_ managed to piss him off this time. Proclaiming his plans out loud, terrorizing tech geeks, and generally being a nuisance wasn't something that usually made Danny upset. Stealing thousands of dollars worth of tech from Fenton Works? Oh, yeah. That got him angry.

" _Yo, Danny, if you see anything that looks vaguely interesting, do me a favor and steal it for me, okay?_ "

"Tuck, vaguely interesting to you is anything that has wires sticking out of it. Do you even realize who's lair I'm breaking into, here?"

" _Good point. Take a picture of everything instead. I can probably reverse engineer it._ " The sad thing was that was probably true. While Tucker was abysmal with homework and assignments and grades, he was top notch when it came to engineering and designing - not counting the 'testing' year after they started having to use the Fenton tech. " _Good luck, buddy!_ "

" _We'll keep your study seat warm for you._ " Oh, there was that, too. Danny had actually been studying and understanding his notes when this little debacle had come to pass. " _Your chips might not go un-eaten, though._ "

"You're the worst best friends ever," Danny whined, smile bright and clear anyways. "Talk to you guys later. Don't burn down my room." The twin chimes of 'no promises' had him huffing out another laugh as he ended the call.

Triggering his transformation just enough to reveal his jeans, Danny slid the phone away into a pocket before snapping back to Phantom and turning invisible. This was going to be his toughest fight yet. Technus wasn't all that powerful, but considering Danny was in the ghost's lair? This could be dangerous. Heck, it could take  _hours_ to find-

"Reveal to me your secrets cylindrical device!" Right. Danny really hated his job- Hobby. Job hobby? Eh. "The Great Technus, Master of Technology, shall force you to work!" Oh, man, this was gold. This was just- This was beautiful.

Taking a seat on a table with just barely enough clear space, Danny watched as Technus fiddled with a Fenton thermos for a few long moments, finally giving a yell and throwing it across the room as sparks flew up into his face. "What fool wires things so poorly!"

"Yeah, that would be my dad. He's great at the drafting weapons part, not so much at the building part. He's getting better, though."

"Ah! Danny Phantom! We meet again, my arch nemesis!" Wow. Just wow.

"Technus, we saw each other half an hour ago. Hang on, since when am I your arch nemesis? When did that happen? I thought Vlad was my arch nemesis?"

"Fool! You will never regain your precious technology!" Oh, wow. Big surprise. Just go right on and ignore him- Oh, god, the monologue was starting. "For I, Technus, have come up with a master plan to use your very devices against you! With my supreme knowledge and mastery over technology I will altar the very truth of these devices! Instead of ghosts they will capture human beings!"

"Dude." Danny was speechless. "That's so stupid." Then he wasn't. Did Technus honestly believe- Ugh, of course he did. Technus was about as crazy as that scientist in Frankenstein. "Technus, dude, c'mon, there's no way science has advanced to the point that humans can be converted into light energy that can be contained within circuits. We're just not there yet."

"That shows what you know, young foe!" Oh, please don't let that stick. That was  _awful_. "For in life I was beginning experiments on human teleportation on gerbils!" Gerbils. "It was quite effective!"

"Alright. Explain effective and while you're at it tell me your sample size, your statistics, and how many trials you ran under what conditions." Yeah, Danny could play this game, too. Ha!

"Unimportant." And he called himself a scientist. Disgraceful. "Granted a few turned into piles of meat, but they successfully traveled from point A to point B!"

"Did the pile of meat have a heartbeat?" At the silence, Danny smirked and crossed his arms, leaning back in triumph. "Then it was a failed experiment-"

"It was in progress! I would have done great things if they had only given me more  _funding_!" Huh. That was the most human thing Danny had ever heard Technus scream. Interesting. Thinking on it, how had Technus even died? Maybe he was trying to continue his weird gerbil experiments.

"Yeah, yeah, tragic backstory, got that, don't care. It's not gonna work. The Fenton Thermos was designed to hold and contain spectral energy. Ghosts are made of ectoplasm. No bone structure." Which hadn't  _that_ been a joy to discover. Danny, as a halfa, wasn't so lucky on the 'can't get a broken bone' front. That had not been a happy few weeks. "No heartbeat to cut off, either."

"Perhaps you are right, ghost child." Really? Danny won? Awesome! Danny almost never-  _Jesus_. Right, god, note to self, don't insult the work of a scientist. Especially when it was going to get him blasted through the  _floor_. Jeez, his back was going to be hurting for days after… Huh. Well. New ghost. That was something.

Floating up from where he had landed on a table filled with files and papers of what looked like years of research, Danny looked to the ghost that was staring back at him and looked to be in the middle of putting some of the folders in a bag at his side. Huh. He didn't look that ghostly, really. Besides the gray skin and  _overly_ bright green eyes he could probably pass for a human- Oh, wait, no, pointed ears. Pointed ears and pointed teeth. Huh. Their hair looked kind of the same - well, human form, at least. Spiky, too. Nice to know he looked as startled as Danny did, though.

"Now, ghost child." Uugghh, more  _monologuing_. "Let me explain to you why you're-  _You_!" You? Oh, Technus was pointing to the ghost. Was that ghost not supposed to be there? Apparently that ghost wasn't supposed to be there. Maybe they should start a club. "What are  _you_ doing here!"

"Oh, nothing terribly interesting. I'm just doing my usual. You know how it goes, thinking over a problem, mentally rehearsing what to say to the next person I meet, and stealing decades of your research right from under your nose." Ooh,  _sassy_. Danny could appreciate that.

"Prepare yourself, writer, for this is the last time you steal from me!" Writer? Was he a writer, then? Why would Technus just call him writer? Weird- Okay, yeah, getting out of the way now- That was a lot of electricity and Danny would just, yeah, Danny would move the hell away-

"Head's up." The words came almost a second too late, Danny hastily throwing a shield up as the mystery ghost launched himself towards him and what had  _he_ done! Apparently nothing as a second later the ghost used the shield as a springboard to launch himself quickly at Technus and kick him to the ground with a sharp kick right to the side.

"Dude, that was  _awesome_." That was a move straight from a superhero movie! That was so- Ah, okay, attacking wires, focus. "Give it up, Technus! You're never going to win!"

"Oh, wonderful. Someone to encourage his dramatic tendencies even more than before." Wha- Hey! "Idiot child. Playing superhero is likely to get you killed."

"Uh, excuse you, who do you think you are? I don't even  _know_ you-" Cutting himself off with a swear that would have earned him a smack from Jazz and Maddie both, Danny tried to duck out of the way of some snapping wires. Tried. He managed to not get decapitated, but his arm wasn't so lucky in not getting caught.

"You might wish to leave, now, if you don't want him to show you to a more permanent death." Wha- Hey!

"Dude, little tied up here at the moment- Whoa, whoa, hey, what's with the knife the pun wasn't that bad-"

"Oh,  _do_ shut up." The ghost flipped the knife up into the air and caught it with a flick of his wrist before bringing it down in one smooth motion and slicing the wires as easily as if they were paper, Danny left shaking his arm free. He could only stare in- "Well? Don't just float there."

"Oh, right." Okay, staring at the weird guy later, running now. Following after the ghost, Danny threw up another shield as more wires came shooting towards them. Eyes wide as they swerved and shot around to attack him from the back, Danny breathed a sigh of relief as the other cut through them just as easily with another knife that seemed to be made out of clear, purple energy. "That's so cool. Can you craft those things out of your energy?"

"You have no sense of self preservation." Well. "Come on, then." A sharp turn of his heel and the weird ghost was kicking over a table of inventions that looked to be cannablized and half torn apart, all of them falling into the hole that Danny had made earlier when being blast through the floor. A sharp yell of what sounded like another language had Danny gleeful as that meant they had landed on top of  _Technus_. Danny didn't even get to stay and gloat before he was being tugged along by his wrist.

"Whoa, hey, personal space-" A sharp wave of static rolled over his skin, Danny's breath caught and hitching in his throat and he couldn't  _breathe_ -

"Ah, yes, you're still human." Clutching at his throat, Danny looked to the ghost with wide eyes as he sucked in the stale air of the Ghost Zone- Oh. They were no longer in Technus' lair. "Teleportation. My apologies, I should have realized you wouldn't be able to breathe due to the way-"

"Who  _are_ you?" Seriously. Danny had never seen this ghost, he fought with  _weapons_ , and he was dressed- Danny didn't know what to call that style. It was simple at first, but then he was wearing a  _purple_ trencoat and had a bag strapped around his shoulders.

"Someone who you are  _very_ close to angering." Oh, wow, Danny hadn't noticed but the guy's voice was  _deep_. Weird. "My name isn't important. You, however, are a foolish child to take on a ghost in their own  _lair_ -"

"Hey, you were there too!" God, why did they even call them lairs? That was so creepy. That was Vlad creepy.

"Yes, but  _I_ wasn't planning on being seen." He had still been ready for a fight, though. "Plasmius won't be pleased-"

"Whoa, hey, you work for Plasmius?" Floating back, Danny was ready to blast the guy the second he moved closer. Anyone who worked with Plasmius was  _nuts_ \- "Wait, then why did Technus attack you?"

"Unimportant." Okay, now Danny was getting pissed off. "I work for Vlad when he pays." Pays? What did  _ghosts_ get paid with? Why would ghosts- "You're the new halfa, then." Yeah, for the last two years. Just where had this-

" _Dude_. There's this thing that they may not have had in your time. It's called  _personal space_."

"Interesting." Yeah, whatever,  _back up_. Jesus, he was less than two inches away- "Ghostwriter." ...Huh? "My name is Ghostwriter."

"Oh, uh… Hi?" The man gave a soft, rumbling chuckle that was quiet and reserved, Danny staring and yeah. He was definitely one of the more human ones.

"Hi." Seriously, what was going on right now? Danny didn't even want to fight him anymore. What was happening? "I suppose until next we meet, Phantom." With that, the-  _Ghostwriter_ was no longer in front of him.

"I- Yeah?" Floating in empty space without a clue as to where he was, Danny leaned back in the air and rubbed at the back of his head. Seriously, what had just happened? He had just- That was just- It- It was- He…

Ghostwriter, huh…

Cool.


	10. Gernaminus and Orange Lilies

Title: Gernaminus and Orange Lilies

Fandom: Danny Phantom

Alternate Universe: Danny age 18, living Ghostwriter (Andrew) who has never met Danny before. // Flower Shop AU

Pairing: Pre Iambic Prose (Ghostwriter x Danny Phantom)

Rating: T

Inspired By: dirtypawsandwanderlustdreams tumblr com post/146947491656/flower-shop-au // Wednesday Drabble

Summary: Andrew Riter had been having a peaceful day running his flower shop until a kid crashed in wanting a bouquet that would mean fuck you. Andrew always did like a challenge.

::

Andrew Riter had been contently playing with an arrangement of dyed roses - another ridiculous idea - and dahlias during a slow Tuesday at the flower shop he owned with his brother. The scents had been relaxing, the propped open door had allowed a cool summer breeze to blow in, and Andrew was half composing more music to play on his piano later when he got home.

The keyword, there, being  _had_. He was now staring at the two twenty dollar bills that had been slammed down onto his unsturdy countertop by a teenager that looked very close to having a screaming match with whoever said a word to him next.

As such, Andrew stayed silent, almost defensively clutching at his mess of dahlias and roses before the teen looked straight into his eyes and spoke in a voice that was much deeper than Andrew was expecting, "How do I passive-aggressively say fuck you in flower?"

Well, then. That hadn't been something Andrew had expected to hear, but flower shop workers couldn't be picky, he supposed. Still. "That is an oddly specific request." Just like that, the teen was deflating as if someone had kicked his puppy right in front of him and then told him his dreams would never come true. It was a little distressing to see. "I, ah- So, a bouquet, then?"

"Um- No, I- Forget it." The anger had drained out of him and he was now rapidly approaching tears - something that was even more panic inducing than just getting into a fight with a soon-to-be customer. "It's probably a stupid idea, isn't it? I mean, you probably can't even  _say_ fuck you with flowers-"

"Oh, no, you can." Andrew was unable to stop a laugh as the other's surprised look. No longer near tears, then. His day had just improved, as well, it seemed. "If you wanted a bouquet to convey a meaning like that then you would want geraniums to start with. For stupidity." Actually, they should have some of that in stock… Elaine had just delivered yesterday and Randy had harvested the flowers they grew themselves at home.

Grabbing his work gloves and slipping them on, Andrew started walking around the store, picking up a few geraniums first against the far well. "Let's see, what else. Foxglove, of course, for insincerity. Meadowsweet for uselessness would be good. Yellow carnations for you have disappointed me. Oh, perfect! A few orange lilies. For hatred." Shuffling them all together in a rough design, he looked back up to the teen.

"Oh my god." Aah, perhaps this had all been simply a joke or a spur of the moment- "Oh my god, it's perfect. How much is it?" Trying not to laugh as he took the flowers back to the desk, Andrew picked up a pair of shears and began clipping and adjusting as he hummed in 'thought,' watching the other squirm. It was too cute.

"Let's see… For this many flowers arranged like this? I say…" The other gulped and Andrew almost laughed. "Ten dollars should cover it." Grinning at the dead silence, Andrew raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"No, no, just- Aren't flowers more expensive than that? Especially from a flower shop like this?" Oh, please. Their prices weren't  _that_  bad. Usually.

"It's summer. We lower our prices." Which was true, just usually not that much. "Besides, I got a very good story out of this, now didn't I?"

"Oh, man, you don't even know the half of it." Ah, and here was the fun part of his job. When the customers started treating him as a therapist. "This friend of mine, Val? We've been dating for a few weeks now and everything's great- Fine! It's perfect! And then she goes and breaks up with me because she 'doesn't want to hurt me' and she 'needs to figure herself out.'"

"Sounds like a typical reason when breaking up." Shuffling the flowers together, Andrew pulled over a glass vase after a moment's thought, filling it with water to the right amount and beginning to tuck the flowers inside. "I take it you parted ways and never want to speak to each other again?"

"Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no, she wants to be  _friends_ , still. As in she keeps sitting with me at lunch, popping up at my house after school, and inviting me to 'hang out' at places. She's acting like nothing's there even though I  _know_ she felt the same. She didn't even wait! She broke up with me and then the next day asked if I wanted to see a movie with her and another friend!"

"Really?" Hmph. This was the reason Andrew avoided women entirely. He was much better off with his book and his books alone, thank you very much. "I thought the minimum amount of time to wait between break-ups was two weeks?"

"Yeah! I thought so, too!" Now let's see what color ribbon… Red. Red was a good color. It could stand for romance  _or_ hatred. Perfect for an arrangement that meant fuck you. "Are you sure that's only ten? That looks like it should cost a lot more than that."

"I'm quite certain." Writing down the transaction in a small notebook, Andrew shoved at the ancient register they were forced to use to open it up as he wrote a receipt copy for both himself and the other. "Would you like a card attached?"

"I can do that?" The smile that was shot at him was blinding in it's excitement. "Yes- Dude, that is  _so_ a yes. Can I say anything?"

"Yes, you can say anything," Andrew chuckled, looking through their cardstock and hm, what would work best here? Some more red ribbon to tie it to the other ribbon, of course, and maybe something purple to tie it all together. Ah, perfect. Purple with a little wide-eyed kitten on the front. The other seemed to find it perfect too, grin even wider.

"Okay, okay. 'Dear, Valerie.'" Writing dutifully, Andrew tried to hide a smile at the theatrical tone. "'This is to show there are no hard feelings between us after what happened. For unquestionable caring kindness, you ooze understanding. Love, Danny.'" Writing the words down, Andrew took a moment to re-read the last sentence, specifically the first letter of every word, before choking on a laugh. "Glad you caught that. She probably won't."

"If she doesn't then she wasn't good enough for you." Andrew signed the card with a flourish,  _Danny_  smiling at him. It really was a nice smile. "These should last a fair while with the right amount of water and changing, so I'm sure your feelings will remain clear to her for a while to come."

"Thanks, and, uh, sorry. This is probably the weirdest request you've ever gotten." Mm. "Really? You've gotten weirder?"

"Flower shops, I've found, gather some of the oddest stories of customer retail." Handing Danny his receipt and change and pushing the vase forward, Andrew gave a smile that he  _knew_ was shy. "I hope you come back and tell me how it goes."

"Yeah- Yeah. Definitely. If I don't come back, though, then assume she figured it out." Taking the items, Danny shuffled them around before holding his hand out. "Danny, by the way."

Taking the hand, Andrew gave it a firm shake. "Nice to meet you, Danny. I'm Andrew." Danny's face flushed a splotchy red before he was rambling about meeting friends and booking it out of the store, Andrew sighing softly to himself. "How utterly adorable."

"We're selling bouquet vases for ten dollars now, huh?" Hearing his brother's voice, Andrew so very hesitantly looked behind him to see that  _grin_. "I mean, he was pretty cute-"

"I got a story out of it and a challenge, nothing more and nothing less." Really, how creative to think to say 'fuck you' in flowers! Andrew hoped Danny came to him with more challenges, one day."

"Oh, right, a challenge. I'm sure it had nothing at all to do with how that cute little kid was exactly your type." Wha- The kid was a  _teenager_ \- "The Fenton kid is eighteen, you know." We… Well… "Too easy, little brother."

"Oh, go drown in your booze." Andrew huffed even at the 'hug' he was pulled into, hiding a smile. Danny Fenton, huh. Maybe Andrew would have to make him a special bouquet the next time he visited.


	11. Pawn

Title: Pawn

Fandom: Danny Phantom

Alternate Universe: None, set right before the episode Kindred Spirits

Rating: G

Loosely Inspired By: <http://ibelieveinahappilyeverafter.tumblr.com/post/67451555214/silversteampunk-coin-what-coin-whaoanon> 

Summary: Danielle practices her chess strategies with Vlad as she prepares to go after the one person who will be able to save her and the other clones. Problem is, it's hard to focus with so much pressure on her. Besides, what's the point of a stupid game where something like a pawn can become a Queen?

::

"Okay, so I move this one- Er, no. No, I got this, hang on. I move- This-" Dani growled in frustration as the rules slipped her mind once more, mortified when she felt angry tears start to prick at her eyes yet again. "Why is it even important for me to learn this!"

"Oh, dear girl." As always, her father's voice soothed her at once, Dani hastily brushing her tears away when she was sure the other wasn't looking. "Chess is an important thing to learn not because it's a game, but because it improves your ability to strategize. It was actually used to plot out war maneuvers back in ancient times."

"Yeah, and now kids chew on the pieces and use them to play checkers." Biting the inside of her cheek, Dani shot a few dozen looks to Vlad as she slowly moved her knight in the proper way of an L-shape. Vlad's smile wasn't proud, but it was there, which meant she had at least remembered how to move it the right way. "How come only I have to learn this?"

"Your brothers are still developing, Danielle." Yeah… Dani shivered and clutched at her sides as she thought of the cold lab deep in the basement of the mansion. The faces of her brothers still scared her and she wasn't sure how many she had seen fall apart. "Danielle? Are you alright-"

"I'm fine! I'm stable and everything right now, I promise." She had felt dizzy for a while now, but she could push it off as not getting enough sleep. She had to. There… There was no way she could go back to that basement locked away in a stasis pod until she  _maybe_ got better. "This is stupid, Daddy. I should be out there finding  _him_."

"And you will."  _Ugh_. He had been saying that for  _months_ now! "You know I don't want you going out there until I'm certain you can handle yourself. I want you and your brothers as stable as possible, Danielle, and Daniel, well… He's confused from all these fights. He doesn't understand, yet."

"I know." At the look given over her sharp tone, Dani contritely looked to the floor, scuffing her shoe against the wooden boards. "I know, Daddy. I'm just… What if I fail?"

"That, my dear, is precisely why we're playing this game." Vlad moved a piece forward absently, as if he barely had to think about it. "This forces you to think ahead of your opponent and plan in advance. That, Danielle, is a very good thing to be able to do."

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess you're right." Um, okay, so pawns could only move one forward, knights in the weird L-shape, and… Rooks went sideways? Or, er, no, was that the bishop? Okay, okay, focus. Maybe distracting Vlad would work better. "So what am I gonna tell him when I meet him?"

"What do you think you should tell him?" Thinking about it, Dani finally moved a piece, mind more focused on her brothers and  _him_. Danny Phantom. The only one who could stabilize them all.

"Maybe I can say I'm family? A cousin, or something. I can come up with some story on how I got my powers, or faint before he tries to question me. He's all about protecting his family, right? I'll just be family. I mean." Dani gave a small smile. "We  _do_ look alike."

Dani was filled with pride at Vlad's chuckle, the man moving a piece of his own across the bored- Damn, there went her bishop. "Yes, I suppose you do. That might not be enough to fool him forever, though."

"I don't need forever, just a day or two, right?" Truthfully, it would be hard enough to last that long. Dani knew she wasn't much more stable than her brothers. She needed to get that mid-morph DNA. "Do you think… Do you think he'll give it to us willingly?"

"No." Vlad's tone was harsh, Dani instinctively flinching away as it caused her to topple her next piece. There was a quiet sigh, red energy wrapping around the fallen knight and setting it to rights. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I'm just as worried as you about all of this."

"I know, Daddy." Dani picked up one of the pawns and played with it, finally biting her lip. "I'm scared I'll fail."

"You won't." But what if she did. "Come now, dear girl, it's your move." Her move. What move could she make that would let her win? She was cornered. Nothing she did would ever work and there was no way- Her Queen had already been taken and you couldn't win without a queen, right? How did someone get a new Queen? There should've been a way to change it all, right?

"Danielle-"

"Promotion." Dani blurted the word out more than anything, scared at Vlad's unamused look. "That's what it's called to get a new Queen, right?"

"Of sorts. If you can get your pawn to the eighth rank and touch the other end of the board you can substitute it for any other piece. It's true that most typically do choose Queen, however."

"That seems kind of silly." Dani set the pawn down and pushed it forward. "Pawns are the weakest pieces after all, aren't they? They're useless. I mean, they're just- Just canon fodder."

"That, Danielle, is how you lose a game of chess." Vlad captured two of her pawns in one move, Dani drooping. That left her with one pawn, then. "Each piece serves it's own unique purpose. While some are not as, mm,  _strong_ as others, they still work to win the overall cause."

"So- So like acceptable loses, right?" Vlad gave her a proud smile this time, Dani perking up at the unsaid praise. "'S still kind of silly a little bit, though, isn't it? I mean, a weak pawn able to become anything, even the Queen. The Queen's, like, the most powerful piece in the game!"

"Well, while they're not useless, they are typically meant to be sacrificed to help your stronger pieces." Huh. So why the promotion rule, then? A pawn could only go one step forward and couldn't even move back like other pieces! Despite what Vlad said, pawns were useless. "I know that look, Danielle."

"I just don't get it," Dani finally sighed, pushing her last pawn forward. "They can't go back, they're  _meant_ to be sacrificed, and they can't even capture other pieces."

"Ah, but that's what makes them so formidable." A few more moves and Dani, stupidly, sacrificed her knight to save her pawn. "If they're allowed to grow, then can change the entire game."

"Seems pretty impossible circumstances to grow in." Shivering and trying to act natural as she shifted in the uncomfortable seat, Dani looked to the window where the sun was shining through brightly. Soon. Soon she could go outside and play like a normal little girl. She just needed to be  _patient_.

"Check." Wait, what? Gaze shooting back to the board, Dani groaned as she was about to lose. Maybe… Queen, huh?

"I'll get that mid-morph DNA, Dad. I promise." Her brothers needed her, after all. She hadn't seen some of them in a long time - part of her was too scared to ask if they had finally…

"I know, darling. How about we send you tomorrow?"

"Yeah." Her pawn moved forward one more space. "Yes. I can do it." The smallest and weakest piece could change everything, huh?

Maybe.

" _Not so loud. I'm Danielle. Your third cousin once removed. I ran away from home. Hey, you got any food?"_


	12. Son of Time

Title: Son of Time

Fandom: Danny Phantom

Pairing: Father Time (Father/Son Clockwork & Danny Fenton)

Rating: T

Warnings: Vague references to character death within an another timeline.

Inspired By: [Son of Princess Luna PMV](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzSRS_vTg6o)

Summary: Maddie Fenton toils away while her husband and two-year-old daughter sleep through the night. She fails on the portal again and again until a ghost arrives claiming he can fix all her problems. All he wants is her son. Her  _unborn_ son. Clockwork is going to fix everything. He will  _make_ all as it should be.

::

"C'mon, c'mon, this time. This time it's going to work." Hm. Mortals. They were always so full of hope for that promised 'next time.' "Yes- Yes-!" The energy in the air spiked and for a small moment it seemed as if reality would allow this dangerous scar between worlds. The hope of humans was powerful, there was no denying that. It was also dangerous.

The portal failed as it had all times before it, the scientist in front of it swearing and sounding close to tears as she rushed to turn the power off and put out the flames that had formed. Such childish mortals.

"You won't succeed on your own." Sitting on the edge of a steel table that radiated cold he could no longer feel, Clockwork smiled into the face of Madeline Fenton. The woman's eyes stared at him with wide-eyed, almost childish wonder. He could see the moment that little girl died to make way for the scientist, however. "Hello, Madeline."

"Who are you." Ah, humans. So hopeful, yet so expecting the worst. Chuckling, Clockwork shook his head as a device was aimed at him with lightning speed. A rudimentary version of the device that would one day contain ghosts.

"That will never work on me." Clockwork knew that the woman realized this, but he also knew that she was very afraid. "It's alright, Madeline. You have nothing to fear from me. Unlike the ghosts of your childhood, I mean you no ill will."

"If I trusted a man every time he said that then I'd be a lot worse off." Chuckling at the sharp, bitter humor, Clockwork marveled. Humans were so  _fascinating_. He really should get out more. "Who are you, ghost."

"You just answered your own question, did you not? I am a ghost." Seeing the look, Clockwork sighed. "I believe, in your terms, I would be a Class 7 fully formed specter." The look of fear that flashed through her face showed her understanding well. "You won't accomplish this goal of yours. Not on your own. Our worlds were meant to touch, not blend."

"I don't care." This woman would tear the very worlds apart to accomplish her dream. Then again, she had once before. "I'm going to prove my family wasn't full of liars even if it tears me apart."

"Even if it tears your family apart?" The husband sleeping upstairs and surrounded by blueprints and the little girl with baby fat cheeks and childish eyes full of kindness. She had smiled at him when Clockwork had visited her. "There is a solution."

"What? I offer you everything I am in order to get this damn thing to work? I don't think so. I know better than to trust some slimy-"

"I can show you the numbers you need. It's really quite a simple problem. You would discover it on your own, of course, but by then sixteen years will have passed and the name Fenton will become a joke in the scientific community."

"Six… Sixteen years…" Too late to prove anything. Too late to ever be taken seriously again. Too late for  _him_  to be spared the pain that would come when the portal finally whirred to life. Oh, but Clockwork could fix that here and now. "We'd be ruined if we kept this up another sixteen years."

"I can help you, Madeline." Clockwork let his tail swish through the air, allowing his fangs to glint and his eyes to shine. "I can show you the way to my world."

"At what price? What price would I have to pay to take away sixteen years of shame?" She didn't question how he knew… Ah, that was right. She was more clever than any of them. Such a dangerous woman. "Well, Clockwork?"

"Your mother told you the stories well." Clockwork bowed his head, a smile playing on his lips. How much he could change. "In exchange for saving family it is only right you pay a price of equal value." Seeing the horrified look, Clockwork laughed, low and sharp. "Oh, no, Madaline, I don't want the family that sleeps upstairs. I want the one that is yet to come."

"I'm… I'm going to have another child?" Two years until he arrived. Clockwork was putting his reality onto another course, but that was fine. There were other realities in which time would proceed as normal, but this one was his. He would do things right as he had failed to do before. Repeating eighteen years was of little consequence when  _he_ would gain so many more. "You want my baby?"

"The fact you question me shows you already have decided." His words were cruel, but this was the best for them all. "Don't worry. If you wish, I can make it so you'll never remember you had a second child-"

"Why?" There was no shouting or yelling, only a simple question as the woman stared at him with sharp eyes. "Why would you want a human child?"

"If you would sacrifice him for this then you would barely have loved him." There was no hurt in her eyes, only cold truth. No wonder his secret had never been confided with them. "This is the only time I will ask, Madaline. Redemption for a child you will never remember and never mourn."

"Sixteen years?"

"I have no reason to lie to you."

"You have no reason to tell the truth."

"Then I suppose you'll simply have to have faith."

The jab hit deep, Clockwork smirking as he slipped off the desk and flew over to the Fenton Portal. Wires were exposed, jagged metal was exposed at odd angles, and burn marks liberally coated the device. Clockwork only had eyes for where, one day, a button would have been placed upon the inside.

"Sixteen years. And I won't ever remember? None of us will?" Humans. They were so mortal and  _fragile_.

"As far as you will be concerned your breakthrough tonight will be a moment of genius inspiration and you will never remember what has been done."

Staring at him, the woman finally bowed her head in defeat.

::

"Hello, Daniel." The newly born child sat in an intensive care unit deep in the middle of Amity Park General Hospital, breathing shallow. Wisps of what would one day be hair were white as snow and eyes that struggled to focus were as green as the world he would soon live in. "It has been quite a while."

At the uncomfortable noises the child made, Clockwork shushed up, letting his core produce a soft thrumming noise as he thumbed at the child's cheeks. "You weren't meant for this world, little one." This time there was no pain to his transformation. The research he had given Madeline had worked all too well. Amity Park had soaked up ectoplasmic energy and the Fentons even more so. While they would be fine in a few years, it was amazing what could affect a fetus when growing within the womb.

Daniel had settled down and was now sleeping peacefully, Clockwork careful and methodical as he disconnected the child from the wires that monitored his life. It was a life that would soon end - peacefully.  _Naturally_. Clockwork would make sure Daniel would feel no pain this time and, with the right manipulation, there would be no human body left behind and no soul to get lost.

Carefully, so carefully, Clockwork pulled the little one into his arms as the world stopped around them, beeping of the monitor cut off into still and silence. "Don't worry, Daniel. One day you will know everything."

He could do it right, this time, though. Time worked differently where he and his lair were concerned and Clockwork could have  _decades_  raising and training Daniel Phantom into the hero and savior he would one day be. The ghosts would be his friends and family and he would unite the world in peace once more.

"My soon to be king." Clockwork phased a glove off, letting his skin warm the child's cheek and lull him into a deeper sleep. "Your story will be different, this time." Pale skin soft as the petal of a flower. No blood to be seen. Hair that would be white as snow. No red and green to be spotted. Green eyes that slipped shut. Green, not blue. "I will protect you."

The Fentons would not remember they had a son. As far as they would know Madeline had been rushed to the hospital after a violent and sudden onset of menopause that had doctors concerned due to her young age. She would heal, but she would not have children again.

Daniel fussed in his arms even in his sleep, Clockwork chuckling softly and tucking the little one close as he could. "Hush, little one. All is as it should be." Daniel would never be Jack Fenton's son, again. Oh, no, no. Daniel was now  _his_ son, and Clockwork would protect him.

This time it would be better. He would make certain of it.


	13. Wednesday Drabble - The Child King

Title: The Child King

Universe Alteration: Divergent Universe following Reign Storm / Ghost King Danny

Rating: T

Warnings: Major Character Death

Summary: Pariah Dark was a ghost and a threat and Danny Phantom protected Amity Park against ghostly threats. It was sort of his thing. Considering how powerful his parent's battlesuit is, Danny has a feeling that he's going to be just fine, however. And he is. He wins. He… He wins.

::

"A little ragged round the edges, eh, child?" Crouched over and trying to catch his breath, Danny's heart seemed to speed up at Pariah's words even more - as if his body wasn't already doing it's best at giving him an early heart attack. Jeez. Even with the suit on he was still looking  _up_ at the former King.

"Whaddya say we ditch the snappy banter and get right to the part where I kick your butt!" Focus, Fenton, focus. He may have used quite a bit of his power in getting in here, but he was fine. Besides, he couldn't let Pariah know just how weak he was getting.

"Very well, I accept your challenge!" This time the shield Danny managed to throw up was nowhere near as powerful as the first one. The power readout dropped below 40% and Danny was remembering just how dangerous this suit was.

Firing a blast and knocking Pariah back into his throne, Danny grit his teeth and tried to push away the dizzy feeling that hit him as Pariah stood up. He didn't even look  _hurt_ by the attack. "Having that much power… It's a burden, isn't it, child!"

No… No, that wasn't it. Dodging the mace thrown at him, Danny grunted as it instead swung around by itself and smashed into his back and sent him to land right in front of Pariah. He wasn't there long as he was soon kicked back into a wall and it  _hurt_.

Forcing himself up, Danny huffed out a breath as he glared back over at Pariah. "The power isn't the burden." It never had been. "The burden is in how I use it, and I've been using it poorly lately." Goofing off, ignoring those he could have helped, leaving Valerie to suffer like she had… No, Danny hadn't been using his powers very well at all lately, but that was about to change.

Right. Focus… A sharp burst of power and there were four of him in front of Pariah, Danny smirking even as the power dropped to 25%. At least this way the odds were a little more even.

Lunging forward, all four of them attacked and hit the ghost with blasts from all directions, Danny wincing as one his clones was hit hard enough to disappear. One down, three left. He could do this. He  _had_ to do this.

With him and the remaining two clones, Danny advanced. "Now leave my town  _alone_!" If it was one thing ghost fighting had done for him, it was that it had taught him how to throw a good punch. Pariah, at least, seemed affected this time, but one of his blasts quickly destroyed another clone. Considering it took a fair amount of damage to destroy one, Danny was really glad  _he_ hadn't gotten hit, yet.

"Surrender, child! You can't possibly win!" Win? Ha, that was the last thing on Danny's mind. He was more on the thought of just  _surviving_. Still, might as well as spell it out for him.

"I don't have to win." Energy building up in his hands, Danny fired it all at the wall behind Pariah, holding his breath. It  _should_ be there… Ah, there it was. The Sarcophagus. "I just have to make sure that  _you_ lose!"

His clone flew up and opened the lid of the Sarcophagus, Danny grinning as he saw that  _now_ Pariah looked scared. His clone fired off a shot and knocked off that stupid crown, Danny catching it and smirking up as the former king looked to be filled with even more fear. Good. Let him feel what he had put his town through.

"No-  _ **No**_!" Ready to toss the crown and charge forward, Danny's eyes widened at the large blast of energy heading straight for him. Pariah had gotten over his shock a lot more quickly than he-

Screaming as the energy hit him and felt like it was tearing through him, Danny twitched and gasped for breath and curled up on the ground, pressing himself back against the stone- Oh. Oh, no. "Enough of your tricks, child!"

The suit was in pieces scattered around him, the crown flickering next to Danny's hands as he pushed himself up, trying not to fall back over. Apparently being forcibly taken out of a neural interface was a  _very bad thing_. Jeez, okay, think fast, Fenton, he didn't have much time- Crown. Vlad had said something about the crown being powerful, so maybe if he put it on it would do what the suit had done.

Dodging another attack and seeing that his clone was gone, which didn't really surprise him, Danny placed the crown on his head and drew himself up and got ready to charge and- Nothing. He was still exhausted and weak and could barely keep himself in the air.

Seeing the fist coming towards him, Danny threw a shield up and bit back a scream as it was shattered in an instant, Pariah catching him around his neck like a cat might pick up a kitten. He didn't think it was supposed to hurt this much.

"You, child, are  _weak_!" Yeah, tell him something he didn't know. "All this reliance on a power that isn't even your own!" No… That- No. It was his power.  _This_ was his power. He had gone through so much since he had changed and just because this guy was strong didn't mean he got to destroy everything Danny had worked for!

"Yeah? Well you were a terrible king!" His power was  _his_ , Amity Park was  _his_ , this fight was  _his_ to win and he was going to prove it! Pulling on all of his strength, Danny kicked up in an approximation of some move or other his mom had taught him and grinned when Pariah startled and let him go.

Darting for the suit wreckage, Danny dug through in a flash, looking for something - anything - that he might be able to use as a ghost weapon of some kind. He knew his parents and he knew their tech and there had to be  _something_ \- There. Grabbing what looked like one of the ghost grenades they made to repel spectral energy, Danny sent a spark of power through it to activate it quickly before tossing it between them at seeing Pariah start to charge.

A shock wave blast of pure power - like a miniature ghost shield going off - threw both of them back and into different areas of the ruin the castle was quickly becoming. Coughing and gasping for air, Danny pushed himself up again, quickly scanning the room. That stupid crown was still on his head and doing  _nothing_ and Danny was at his limits and Pariah- Oh.

Pariah had been thrown back across the room and right near the Sarcophagus. Seeing as he had a lot more power then that meant the blast must have affected him more because Pariah Dark was looking dizzy and weak himself and he was  _right there_ near it and-

Danny didn't give himself time to think. Charging forward as he had meant to do when he still had the suit, Danny knocked Pariah back with every ounce of energy he had left in him, slamming the door shut in the same moment and gritting his teeth when he felt it shake. Pariah had recovered his wits.

Key, key, c'mon, he needed the key, where was the- There. The key was still in the lock and all Danny ahd to do was turn it- " _Release me,_ _ **child**_!"

"No way, dude! You don't  _deserve_ to be King if this is what you do with your power!" The entire thing shook and Danny pressed himself up against the door, using every last bit of ghostly strength to keep it closed. "The ghosts are a little weird, but they're not dangerous or crazy like  _you_! They deserve to have someone protect them, too!"

It had taken him a while, but Danny had realized that the ghosts really  _weren't_ bad. A little rowdy and quick to resort to violence, but they never meant for anyone to really get hurt - at least, most of them didn't. They just wanted to visit the world they had lived in. What was so wrong with that?

At the wordless scream of rage the door opened an inch, Danny shutting it just as quickly. It felt like his heart was about to beat out of his chest, but if he could just get to the key. "They don't deserve to suffer like this! They didn't get a choice!" They hadn't chosen to die or become ghosts just like Danny hadn't chosen to become  _this_. "You're a terrible king! I heard the stories and you almost  _destroyed_ them!"

They didn't deserve that. No one deserved that. If Danny could protect all of Amity Park, then he had enough strength to protect the ghosts, too. Jeez, maybe protect was too strong a word, but he- He could at least guide them and help them a little, right? Show them that they didn't have to destroy to get things.

If he made it out of this then he had a feeling Amity Park would get a whole lot better, but right now he was stretching an arm up and reaching for the key, fingers brushing against the edge and almost-  _Almost_.

The coffin shook and Danny feared it was going to be blasted into pieces, but he didn't have time to think of anything because his fingers gripped the key and- "Consider yourself de-throned!" The key turned, a click sounded, and the world went silent.

For a single second, everything was quiet. It didn't last more than a second.

Pure energy and power flooded the place, Danny forced back and just barely able to keep his feet under him as he stared down at the key loose in his grip and he… He did it. He did it, but why did it feel like the power in the room was only growing? Did he lock Pariah away only to release something even more crazy?

Okay, calm down, just- God, it was so hard to breathe. His heart was beating like crazy and his vision was swimming and it was getting  _cold_ and maybe- The other ghosts were out there so maybe they could take care of the next threat because he was so  _tired_  and…

"Oh, little badger. What did you do?" Vlad? What was Vlad doing here? Why did… Danny's balance left him and he was just barely aware of arms catching him and sleep sounded  _great_ right now.

::

" _Well, the worst ghost crisis in the history of Amity Park is over_." A perky voice that reminded him of tree trapped cats and dismal weather forecasts had Danny cracking his eyes open. That was about as far as he got and nope, no, that was a bad idea. Very bad idea. " _Cleanup continues and a sense of normalcy has returned._ "

Wait, wait… Cleanup? Amity Park? Crisis over? That meant everything was okay and they had won- Holy crap that meant Danny was  _alive_. Well. That made sense. Being dead would mean he wouldn't be in  _this_ much pain, jeez.

" _And while we may never know exactly what happened, one thing's for sure. Inviso-Bill_ -" Groaning loudly, Danny found he actually did have enough energy to throw and arm over his eyes and  _jeez_. " _Or should I say, Danny Phantom_ -"

"What?!" Darting up, Danny looked to where there was a tv playing the Amity Parks news, grin wide and beaming as he saw a confusing pie chart on whether he was good or bad - or, well. A pro or con?

" _-has gone from villain to hero in the eyes of many in our town_ -" That was about when Danny stopped paying attention because that was not his tv and he was not in his room.

Instead of his messy room where half of his stuff was either blue or white or covered in stars, he was in a room that was covered with red and everything looked to be velvet or silk or  _worse_. Considering he saw hidden traces of green and gold he knew right away where he was.

"Oh for the love of- Vlad!" Leave it to the fruitloop to kidnap him the second he passed out! God, it was too early - late - to deal with this. Rubbing at his eyes, Danny paused at the feeling of gloves and, huh… He was still in his ghost form? How did that work? He usually changed back when he fell asleep.

" _-of course, there is still tragedy within Amity Park. The Fentons are still mourning the loss of their fourteen-year-old son, Danny Fenton, who died sometime during the return of our town._ " Head snapping over to the tv, Danny's eyes widened as he saw a picture of himself followed by a clip of his family and they-

They thought he was dead? No… No, he was still here! Right- Scrambling off the bed, Danny hit the floor and gritted his teeth at the pain as the door opened to show Vlad. "Wha- Daniel? Are you alright! What-"

"Why did you tell them I was dead?!" Danny stood up with some difficult, calling up his energy and frowning as he saw it was blue. That was… That was weird, but he had more to worry about right now. "They think I'm  _dead_! How messed up are you?!"

"Daniel, that's not-" Vlad threw up a shield to deflect the weak blast, Danny frowning as he didn't even change into Plasmius. What was he doing? If he thought- " _Danny_. Please, just… Just listen." Did… Did he just call him…

"You just called me Danny. You never call me Danny. Who are you and what did you do with the Fruitloop?" Instead of getting defensive or revealing himself to be some other ghost in disguise, Vlad only looked  _more_ tired. "V… Vlad?"

"You… Little badger, you can't go back home." Ugh, that stupid nickname. Huffing, Danny let the energy out of his hands, shaking his head.

"If you think you can just keep me here and I won't do anything about it then you got another thing coming-"

"Change back." Wha- What? Vlad… He didn't  _seem_ like he was joking, but why the sudden subject change? "If you can change back then I'll let you go home."

"Is this some kind of trick?" Patting himself down to make sure there were no devices or inventions on him, Danny huffed as he forced the change back- As- As he  _forced the change back_ \- "I'm not changing." Whatever tricks he had used to change back seemed to suddenly be gone from his mind, Danny finally managing to call forth white rings that didn't  _do_ anything. It was just Danny Phantom. Over and over and over- "What did you do to me?!"

"I tried to get there in time, Daniel, please believe me I did." Vlad's voice was  _ragged_ , the man sounding exhausted as he took a step forward only to immediately take it back. Danny had never seen him so uncertain and  _scared_. "You challenged a king, Daniel. You  _challenged_ a king and you took his crown."

"I- No? I mean, yeah, I guess I kind of challenged him, but the crown thing was an accident." Danny nervously pushed his hair back, frowning when his hand bumped into something. What-

"Daniel, what happens when someone in history challenged a king and won?" Oh, jeez, history lesson, okay, uh, think quick Fenton.

"They- I mean, they became king, right?" At the nod, Danny shook his head and why all the subject… It wasn't a subject change. "No- I'm- No. I didn't challenge him to be- To be  _that_."

"You took the crown and you locked him away by yourself with no outside interference. No one would argue with that claim." Claim? No, he had just been trying to save the day. That- That was it. "With ghosts the line of succession was always transferred by victory in combat, Daniel."

"Succession?" There was no way he was saying what Danny thought he was saying. Absolutely no way. Right? No. He was a kid. A  _human_ kid. "Just- Just let me change back and go home, Vlad. This isn't funny amore."

"I- I can help you disguise yourself so you can see them, but you wouldn't- Daniel, you won't be able to stay there or here for very much longer." N… No. "You can tell them what I am when you see them. All of what I am if that will help you explain things."

"They'll hate you- They'll  _hate you_." Vlad had done bad, but Plasmius had done worse. Telling his parents would ruin any lingering feelings of friendship and any chance of redemption.

"I'm aware." The room fell silent except for the news playing in the background, Vlad opening his mouth before setting a hand on the doorknob. "I'll…" He didn't finish, merely walking out and closing the door.

Danny stared at the door before shakily looking back down to his hands. Vlad had to have done something to him, right? Something like a reverse Plasmius Maximus or whatever it had been. Like… Oh. Not even Vlad could change him  _this_ much.

Staring at the mirror he had caught sight of, Danny saw… Not himself. His hazmat suit and that silly logo on his chest was the same, yeah, but beyond that the differences were like night and day.

This ghost in the mirror was young and scared and no older than fourteen. He had blue skin that reminded him of the Christmas he spent too long outside with a glow to match, small fangs that could easily pierce flesh, pointed ears that reminded him of Sam's books, bright blue eyes that shined like ice caught in sunlight, and white hair that seemed to not follow the laws of gravity.

And there, on top of this strange ghost's head, was a crown that looked to be made out of a single block of ice and glowed with  _fire_ that was all shades of blue.

Danny couldn't do anything but stare, raising a hand and watching as the figure in the mirror copied it. The ghost in the mirror blinked, laughed, and gave a heartless smile.

"Guess I won."


	14. Camera Shy

[Follow me on tumblr at ibelieveinahappilyeverafter](http://ibelieveinahappilyeverafter.tumblr.com/tagged/otpafs)

Title: Camera Shy

Pairing: Implied Pre-Unidentified Flying Ship (Danny x Wes) (Can be read as friendship only)

Rating: T

Warnings: References to typical show violence (ghost fights, ect.)

Summary: Wes, angry at another failed attempt at getting a picture that showed Danny Fenton is Danny Phantom, retreats to Casper High's photography club dark room to sulk and fix his camera. He isn't expecting to deal with Danny himself, though, and he  _definitely_ isn't expecting to get just the picture he needs to prove everything he's been saying is true.

::

It was usually frowned upon to enter the photography club's dark room in any state that could bring harm to the developing pictures, but Wes was tired, cold, and starving from where he had missed lunch. If his club had a problem with him being soaking wet and dripping water everywhere, then- They could- They-!

Wes would be upset, too, actually, if someone came into the room while dripping river water onto everything. Well, whatever. He'd find a mop and clean the room up later, but right now he just really wanted to focus on fixing his camera and unfortunately this was the only room with the tools for the job. Hopefully the club president wouldn't mind Wes borrowing her tools for just a  _few_ minutes.

Popping open his old polaroid that he had borrowed/inherited from his dad, Wes stared at the absolutely ruined insides of his camera. "My dad is going to kill me." His whispered words set him even more on edge, Wes whining at seeing not only was all of his instant film ruined from the water that had gotten into the camera, but the processing rollers were  _all_ knocked out of alignment. It was just as bad as when he discovered the river had destroyed the pocketed photos he  _had_ taken that day.

Jeez… How had the day gone so wrong so  _quickly_? It had started off a normal enough school day, but then a ghost attack had happened and Wes just  _had_ to go running after Fenton to prove, once and for all, that he was Phantom. Yeah. Right. 'Once and for all.' As with every time before, Wes was left with no proof and Fenton kept his cocky smirk.

God, he had gotten just the perfect picture, too! It had been a picture that  _showed_ him transforming and the light distortion had even caused strange effects on the printed out picture, but then it had gone to ruin when Wes had tried to help. Not with the ghost fight - god no - but with the crazy Red Huntress chick.

She had shown up just as the battle with the robot ghost ended and had started trying to rip the kid into pieces. While Wes kind of felt like punching Danny himself some days, the whole 'ripping him apart' thing was a bit too much, so, like an idiot, Wes had tried to distract the Huntress so Danny had time to get away and enjoy what normal life he had left before Wes showed his picture to the masses.

The whole distracting thing hadn't gone so well for him. Instead of whatever he had been trying to do, Wes, his camera, and his picture had ended up falling into a river. While Wes was okay and his camera mortally wounded, the picture… The picture hadn't made it.

As if to make it an even  _better_ day, Wes had been kicked out of history when he had showed up to class dripping wet and shivering with a camera clutched to his chest. He- He wasn't sure what had happened to his backpack, really. Still. He had been thrown out. So now here he was, missing class, to try and salvage his camera and maybe, just maybe, give it a little bit more time in this world.

"You know, I'm pretty sure water is bad for cameras." Looking up, Wes stared at where Danny was leaning  _through_ the door before walking in completely- Before he  _phased_ in completely. "What do you think I should use here? Watery grave or swimming with the fishes?"

"Try using some common sense and getting the hell out of here." Wes stared down at his ruined camera and  _of course_. Here came the conquering hero to rub his victory in Wes' face. He shouldn't have bothered to be surprised.

"Relax, I'm actually here to thank you." Danny Fenton/Phantom did not just say what Wes thought he said. "No need to look that shocked-"

"Angry. Angry is the word you want to use there." Wes had been trying to expose him for  _months_ and now suddenly he came in to  _thank him_? What the absolute  _hell_! "I'm pretty sure I'm the last one you want to be thanking."

"You kept the Huntress off my back," Danny shrugged, as if that was something that was no big deal. "So, thanks." He was acting as if almost  _dying_ was  _no big deal_.

"You're unbelievable." Wes could only stare as he near whispered the words and what the hell was  _wrong_ with this kid? "You act like this is all so  _normal_."

"Uh, dude, it kind of is. I've been doing this since Freshman year." Freshman. Since he was  _fourteen_. They were in their Junior year!

"It shouldn't be normal- Nothing about this town should be  _normal_." Ghosts roamed the streets, a boy could turn into a ghost at will, and no one could ever even realize that  _Fenton_ and  _Phantom_ were really  _not that freaking different_.

"Welcome to Amity Park." It took more effort than it should have to not throw one of the tools at Danny's head. "So, uh, what are you doing?"

"Fixing the camera that's ruined thanks to you. You know, just like my life I keep trying to fix that you also ruined."

"Hey, I'm not the one who told you to quit the basketball team and run around trying to prove-"

"Thrown off." Oh, what do you know, Danny Fenton could actually shut up for a few minutes. Truly, a miracle. "I didn't quit the team, I was thrown off it."

There wasn't a response to that one. Wes kind of felt like he won, actually, which really helped in improving his mood. Thinking on it, maybe his camera could be salvaged. It didn't look all that bad now, especially as Wes dried the parts one by one. Reaching for the screwdriver he  _knew_ was somewhere in  _that_ vague area, he paused when he felt it dropped into his hand.

Already knowing who it was, Wes glanced to where Danny was now only a couple feet away. The teen was quiet for a few moments before he spoke. "You were thrown off?"

"You didn't think I kept going after you for no reason, did you?" Then again. Amity Park. "I wasn't." Watching Danny for a moment, Wes started poking at the inner workings of his camera, trying to see just how out of balance it all was.

"I mean, I thought it might be something, but I didn't- Why would you blame me for getting kicked off the team? I mean, I'm pretty sure nothing I did was my fault when it came to basketball."

"Next time you need a place to change back, don't use the changing rooms in the gym and then just use your stupid powers to walk through the walls. It means whoever saw you go in saw  _me_ come out."

The two were quiet for a few seconds, Wes glancing up to see Danny looked to be deep in thought. Rolling his eyes, he pointed at another screwdriver, pleased when Danny dropped it into his hand. "I… I don't see where this is going."

"We don't look all that different, you know. Same height and build and I have green eyes and a few freckles. That, apparently, was enough for those stupid Guys-in-White that were after you that day. They saw Phantom go in and then they saw me come out looking  _just_ similar enough." Of all the days to stay late and get some extra practice in… "I wasn't exactly the best on the team, you know. So when I missed a game it was all the excuse the coach needed to kick me off."

"Wait, why did you miss a game?" Give it a moment and… "Shit- Shit, this was a few months ago, wasn't it? That big game against Cornell?" What do you know, he wasn't an idiot.

"That's the one." Wes swirled his finger in the air. "Go Ravens." One of the lamps in the room flickered, the room going even darker before Wes glared at it, pleased when it stayed on. No doubt the president would make him pay for a new one if the bulb died while he was in here.

"Okay, so you missed the game, but… Oh." Yeah. Oh. The Guys-in-White had seen something they thought was a connection and while they hadn't  _hurt_ him, that didn't stop them from strapping him to a chair and questioning him for hours on end - as well as shoving weird flowers in his face every few minutes. "How'd- I never asked, but how did you figure out it was  _me_?"

"Fenton. Phantom." At least the kid had the decency to blush. "You think others would see it, but you act totally different when you're a ghost, so I guess I can't blame them too much. Still, though. The whole 'changing in the middle of the halls and saying-'"

"I'm getting better!" Snorting to himself, and ignoring Danny's blush, Wes went back to poking at his camera. It was kind of nice in here. Maybe he should spend more time in the dark room. It was dark, quiet, empty, and he got to play around with his pictures and camera all he wanted. It was nice- Good. It was good.

"So, uh…" Kid couldn't handle silence for even a bit, could he? "Those are some nice looking pictures?" Looking up to see him gesture towards the pictures Wes had taken while in town, he gave a shrug.

"Thanks." They weren't his best work, but they were decent enough. He had only gotten to develop them that morning, though.

"Wait- Those are yours?" Danny was now sitting up on the stool he had been sitting on, craning to get a better look at some of the higher up ones. "Dude, these are  _awesome_. You're actually really good at all this photo stuff. I thought you were some knock-off Daily Bugle reporter or something."

"Yeah, thanks for the insult," Wes snorted, hating how he felt a smile start to appear. "I'm obviously Peter Parker." A wild burst of laughter startled him into almost jabbing something he shouldn't. He couldn't bring it within him to be too upset, though, when Danny probably didn't have many things to laugh about to begin with. Wes had seen the aftermath of some of those fights, after all.

"I think I could argue with you on that one!" Whatever. Wes could totally be an awesome Peter Parker- Okay, maybe he was a little too cynical for that one. Iron Man. He'd make a great Iron Man. "So, uh, hey… Why don't I stick around and help you get that camera dry? Thanks for keeping my ass from  _not_ becoming grass."

"If you promise to never say something that stupid sounding again, then, yeah, sure." This kid was something else entirely. Still, it wasn't the worst thing to work with Danny, directing him on what piece went where and how a polaroid camera actually worked - and dispelling the common misconception that they had ink cartridges- Well, this one didn't, at least.

"You really know a lot about cameras, don't you?" Danny was holding the camera steady as Wes used both hands to knock one of the rollers back into place, swearing under his breath when it almost became unhinged entirely.

"It was something important to me and my parents when I was a kid. Sort of like a family tradition to go out on weekends and take pictures. After they split, I just kept it up." Giving a moment of pause, Wes nodded, pleased when Danny didn't go off sprouting out 'oh I'm so sorry to hear that.'

"Cool." See? Much better than empty apologies. "Jeez, now I feel a little bad when I considered breaking your cameras in the beginning."

"I honestly kind of expected you to- Hold still, I almost got this." Getting the rollers  _just right_ , Wes grabbed a new stack of instant film he had laid out to warm up and slid it in. Closing it up, Wes moved back to eye the case for any new nicks or damage-

A bright flash of light startled him and Danny both, a picture sliding out as Danny grinned weakly, "I think I pressed a button on accident. Story of my life, really."

"You're lucky it seems to be working." Wes snagged the photo and set it down, letting it develop for a few minutes as he took the camera back.

"Aren't you supposed to shake that?" Ugh, novices were all the same.

"That can damage the picture." Honestly. Wes set the camera down and put the leftover instant film back into the small refrigerator under the table, amused at Danny's baffled look. "It's so our pictures turn out cool." The wild snort of laughter was kind of pleasing, he wasn't going to lie.

"You might not actually be as bad as I thought you were." Hm, was mind reading a ghost power? It probably was if Danny was voicing his exact thoughts. "How'd the picture turn out?"

"Vain, aren't you?" Snagging the picture, Wes held it out in the low light so they could see it, speechless at what he saw.

The picture showed an upside down Danny looking startled, but the surprising part was the way his eyes glowed  _green_. The flash had surprised them both, it seemed, and there were a million small details that showed Danny Fenton could not, in any way, be entirely human. Everything in this picture set him apart as  _other_.

Green eyes, threads of white in his hair, a touch of frost on his face, lips parted to show a glint of teeth that were just too  _sharp_ \- There were a million pieces of proof in this one photo.

"Looks like you finally got your proof." Surprisingly enough, it was  _those_ words that spurred Wes into action. Standing up, Wes walked over to the sink in the corner, tearing the photograph into as many small pieces as he could before dropping it in the sink and turning the water on. He didn't trust just throwing it away into the trash can. "That… You just- What the  _hell_? You've been trying for months-"

"Consider it a thanks." The pieces were soaked and were already slipping down the drain, Wes seeing nothing but a faded flash of green before it disappeared. "You've put me through hell these last few months, but ever since I got kicked off the team because of that mix-up…"

Wes shrugged, turning the sink off and staring at the empty basin. "I've had more time for my photography, again. My dad wanted me in basketball, but I couldn't care less about it. I wasn't all that good at it, anyways, I was just decent. Now, though, I can focus on the club more and I don't have to force myself to hang out around fake friends who didn't even like me."

"If that's true then why did you spend so long trying to expose me?" Something in Danny's voice made Wes look back. The teen's expression… It was more Phantom than Fenton. "You know how dangerous ghosts are-"

"You're not." That got a surprised look, Wes laughing. "Dude, we're alone in here and the school security cameras don't work because of the lamps we got. You could've threatened me or done  _something_ and all you did was help me fix my camera. You're definitely more Peter Parker than Batman."

"Wes…" Danny shook his head, looking speechless. "Did you just mix  _franchises_? Oh my god, you can't just do that, that's  _horrible_!"

"I don't know, I really liked that comic where Iron Man and Batman teamed up." The look of confusion and frustration was pretty great. "See? You get angry over  _comic books_. You don't get angry over people trying to do what they thought was right."

"Thought?" How was Fenton near the bottom of the class when he caught on to little details that no one else would? He probably just never did his homework.

"You're not some evil ghost. You can't be when you risk so much saving our dumb asses. Besides, there's probably some people you wouldn't want getting proof like  _that_." Wes went back to his seat, checking his camera over one last time before folding it up. "What idiot at this school would believe that was a real photo, anyways? They probably would've thought I just doctored it up."

"Hey, you missed lunch, right?" Considering he had been chasing Danny all over town, yes, he had missed lunch. He was paying for it, too. Maybe he could- "Wanna ditch the rest of our classes and hit up the Nasty Burger?"

"I…" Somehow, Wes had the very strong feeling that he had just made a friend where he didn't at  _all_ mean to. It was a troublesome friend, too, and Danny would probably pull him into all his drama without even trying- Fuck, he was going to have to deal with goth girl and nerd wonder for the rest of his high school career, wasn't he? He was doomed.

No matter how he looked at it, he was now stuck as one of the few people who knew Danny Fenton's secret. He also knew, without a doubt, that he had just become one of the people who would go down protecting it. "Lunch sounds great… Danny."


	15. Electricity

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The following prompts were done for Phanniemay 2018 and I thought you guys might like to see them here! I hope you enjoy them! Also, just to let you know, the reason for my lack of updating was emergency eye surgery! It was rather terrifying, to be honest... So, um, enjoy!

Prompt: Electricity

Alternate Universe: Wes inclusive, no Phantom Planet, Danny age ~16, can be seen as a sequel to Camera Shy

Pairing: Implied/Pre Unidentified Flying Ship (Danny x Wes) but can be read as friendship

Rating: G+ (Because teenagers don't know when to stop swearing.)

Author Notes: Haaa. You all thought I was going to be on time and upload these day by day? No, where's the fun in that. It's catch up time.

Summary: Wes, as an official member of Team Phantom, has taken on the role of keeping an eye on Danny's vitals between Fenton and Phantom. It would be easier, of course, if Fenton didn't keep calling his  _very important journal_ a diary.

::

"Electricity? Seriously? Are you sure you don't mean it just feels cold, or something?" Danny Phantom floated in front of him with a dubious expression that had Wes frowning and no, he very much did  _not_ mean cold, thank you.

"Definitely electricity- No, maybe more like static?" Wes held his hand out again, Danny sighing as he placed his fingers on Wes' palm and turned the both of them intangible, Wes shivering at the feeling. It was almost the same feeling as when he took off a shirt filled with static electricity, only instead of just his chest it was  _everywhere_. "Not cold."

"I don't know what to tell you, dude. Sam and Tuck never noticed anything weird about it." Grabbing the notebook Wes had forced Danny to start to keep track of his powers and health, he quickly jotted down the observations. "Really? It's going in the stupid health book?"

"Yes, it's going in the stupid health book." To spite him, Wes flipped open his camera and took a picture of Danny quickly, grinning as the flash startled him into floating back. "Evidence."

"Ass. Come on, then, what's next? Wanna tell me my ice powers feel cold, now?" Rolling his eyes and ignoring the floating teenager full of bitter sass, Wes flipped through the pages they had already written in.

"Actually, that might be a good idea. Here." Wes held out his hand, blinking as Danny took it in his own. He was about to make a joke before he was yelping and jerking his hand back fast enough to near send him out of his seat, Danny cackling as Wes tried to get the fucking  _ice_ off his hand. "And you called  _me_ an ass?!"

"Calm down, it melts pretty quick like that." Thankfully, Danny was right and the ice was already rapidly melting. "So? What'd that feel like?"

"Like hot tea. What do you think it felt like!" Making an observational note that Fenton was the biggest ass in all of Amity Park-

"All of Amity Park, really? That seems a bit excessive-"

"Don't read over my shoulder!" Swatting him away with the book, Wes grinned at the yelp it earned him.

"Alright, alright! Jeez, there's no need to be so testy about it." Danny huffed, floating around Wes to hover over his shoulder and read the book that Wes was writing in again. "I still don't see why we need to keep a stupid health diary."

"It's a journal, not a diary. Diaries are for people who aren't comfortable with who they are." There was a beat of silence, Danny opening his mouth before Wes narrowed his eyes. "We are in a room full of ghost weapons. Think carefully."

"So am I dying horribly, then?" What do you know, Fenton really could learn. A miracle, truly. "Or, you know-"

"You make too many dying puns. Yeah, you're fine, I just wanted to see if anything changed when you were actually using your powers. I can't believe you lot haven't thought to do any of this before."

"We just took enough vitals to know when something was going wrong," Danny shrugged, sounding unconcerned as he changed back, Wes grabbing his wrist and counting his pulse at once. "Oh, come on, seriously?"

" _Someone_  needs to keep you alive, Fenton. Might as well be me." Waiting until he had a number, Wes nodded and jotted it down. "I'm taking it again in five minutes. It's higher than when you're a ghost, but lower than it usually is when you're at rest."

"Weird." Pausing at the tone of voice, Wes glanced up to see Danny fiddling with his phone. "Are you sure we should keep a journal? I mean, we'll probably lose it. Journals get lost pretty easily." Ah, so that was the problem.

"Yeah, they do get lost pretty easily, I guess." Wes closed the book after writing the numbers down, looking to Danny seriously. "But not this one." Wes remembered how crazy the Guys-in-White had been when it came to finding Phantom, and he knew there were just as many other people out there who wanted to know how a ghost worked. Any page in this book could ruin Danny's life. "Is that why you don't keep records of all of this?"

"No." Danny sighed, shaking his head. "Yes.  _Sort of_. It was- At first it was more that if I didn't write it down then maybe it wasn't real, or it was just temporary." Ah, the observer effect or whatever. Danny's mind would go straight to science, wouldn't it? "Once I realized it wasn't going away… It seemed dangerous. I mean, I live in a house with  _ghost hunters_."

"You really should tell them about all of this, you know." Raising his hands peacefully at the look, Wes shook his head. "Hey, no, trust me, I'm all about keeping things from your parents, but I'm just saying that it would probably be pretty nice to have ghost experts helping you out when you need it."

"I-" Whatever fight he was gearing up for left him, Danny sighing and slumping back against the doorway. "Yeah. I just- It's stupid. I know they'll accept me, but-"

"What if, right?" Wes startled as Danny fell against him, head laying on his shoulder and right, right. Danny could be affectionate as hell. This explained why he was always cuddled up to Sam and Tucker all the time. "Hey, it's going to be okay, man. You've lasted this long after all, right?"

"Yeah." Danny's gaze trailed to the journal, Wes frowning. Maybe… Maybe it was more than just not wanting to acknowledge what had happened and then being scared about others finding out. Maybe Danny was afraid of the changes that he might see over time.

"Jesus, you're depressing." Wes grabbed Danny's wrist before flipping it over and taking the pulse again, counting quietly under his breath. "Okay, it rose back to normal." Wes wrote the numbers down before flipping through the already impressive amount of pages. "Same as yesterday and every other day before it."

"You're not subtle," Danny snorted, hiding a smile against Wes' shoulder. "Alright, my turn, come on. We've been here way too long and it's time to eat a bunch of unhealthy food!" Danny was pulling Wes up at once, jabbering on about things that didn't matter as he pulled Wes towards the stairs.

"Oh." Wes' quiet understanding was lost in the flow of words, but that was fine because Wes  _got it_ now. Danny's powers didn't feel like electricity because of some ghost thing or because of how he got his powers. That wasn't it at all. It was because  _Danny_  was electric.

Even before Wes had really taken notice of him he knew enough to know the kid was smart, friendly, hyper, and could probably best be described as a human golden retriever. His entire  _personality_ was electric to the point he made friends out of people as easily as Wes took pictures. Maybe that was one of the reasons the kid was Danny Phantom, too. With a personality like that, Wes doubted he could see someone in trouble and not help.

"-do you think?" Startling at the question, Wes blinked at Danny, the other looking more amused than anything else. "Did you just hear anything I said?"

"I think it sounds great." Wes didn't know what the hell he had just agreed to, but he couldn't really find himself upset about it when Danny was beaming and looking happier than should be possible.

Maybe being on 'Team Phantom' wasn't so bad, after all.


	16. Green

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Prompt: Green

Alternate Universe: Post show, no Phantom Planet, Danny age ~16

Characters: Danny Fenton, Dash Baxter

Rating: T

Warnings: Copious amounts of swearing, bleeding, blood (both human and ectoplasm), very vague references and hints towards child abuse, and physical bullying mentions

Author Notes: I can't tell you how much fun I had writing something from Dash's POV. I need to do more on him in the future. He's quite the interesting character once you fiddle around with him a little bit!

Summary: It was supposed to be a typical Friday night. Yeah. Supposed to. As in Dash Baxter had found a bleeding ghost in an alleyway and discovered something he probably shouldn't have and why the  _fuck_ didn't he know how to do stitches?

::

"You sure you don't wanna hang out with us tonight, man? My parents are gone for the whole weekend and we'd have the whole place to ourselves." Shaking his head at Kwan's excitement, Dash found himself trying not to laugh.

"Nah, man, I have to get home tonight. My turn to make dinner." At the understanding look from his best friend, Dash quickly cleared his throat and gave the other a shove. "Now go on, go watch your stupid sappy romance shows."

"Hey, I'm not the one that curls up with my Chihuahua-"

"Kwan, no-"

"-my Chihuahua named  _Pookie_ -"

" _Kwan_!"

"-to watch Beverly Hills-"

Dash was laughing even as he shoved Kwan away from him, Kwan laughing just as much as he bounced right back and threw his arm around Dash's shoulders. "Seriously, man, you know you're welcome over anytime. My mom loves going crazy fawning over you."

"Yeah- Yeah, thanks man." Dash let himself enjoy the half-hug for a moment before shoving Kwan off. "Now cross the street before you miss your light, jesus."

"Okay, okay, I'm going! See you at the game tomorrow!" Kawn dashed across the street and narrowly avoided getting hit, cackling as he ran off to the sound of someone screaming at him. Shaking his head and trying to get his heart rate under control, Dash set off towards his own house.

As much as he hated the weekends sometimes, he was at least looking forward to the fact he'd have the house to himself until eleven, and at that point he'd either be asleep or near it. Toying with the idea of hitting up a grocery store - or maybe the Nasty Burger - Dash paused when he realized he had instinctively dodged stepping in something that was  _glowing_.

Considering he lived in a town famous for ghost attacks that wasn't too big of a surprise, but it was still enough of an oddity that Dash retraced his steps and bent down to see just what the heck it was.

"Ew." It was glowing, yeah, but it was also green. It looked like toxic sludge, honestly, like that kind of stuff he'd see pictures about in science class. Thinking on it, ghosts had that whole glowing green thing about them, so maybe it was that.

Scrunching his nose up, Dash looked around to see there was more of the stuff a bit further up. Seemed like there was more the further up it got- Trail. It was definitely a trail. Standing up, Dash shrugged it off and kept walking, trailing to a stop when he saw the trail led into a dark alleyway.

"Fuck." Dash had seen enough horror movies to know he had just walked into his own. He was also self-aware enough to know that he was the dumb jock which meant he was probably going to die in the next ten minutes.

Chewing on his lower lip, Dash looked in the skies for any sort of sign of a ghost, groaning to himself when he saw nothing and turned to step into the alley. He was so going to fucking regret this. There was probably a ghost waiting to attack him considering how much green shit was all over the… The ground…

Dash stared at the perfect handprint of that glowing green sludge that was pressed against the edge of the rusting dumpster, unable to explain even to himself why he was suddenly filled with the sense of something  _bad_. "He- Hello?"

A quiet groan had him making a noise that he was glad no one on the team would ever hear before spinning around to see a soft glow- It was no surprise he hadn't noticed before, considering how dim… Holy shit.

"You- You're-  _Phantom_." What the hell was Danny  _Phantom_  doing pressed up against a dumpster in an alleyway?! "Dude, whoa, are you okay?" C'mon, Dash, don't be a fanboy.

"Oh, great." The echoing voice had Dash shifting uncomfortably and the bright green eyes that looked up to his own had him swallowing. "Just what I need."

"So, uh, do you need help, then? Or something?" Dash took another hesitant step forward. "You look pretty beat up, man."

"No fucking shit." Right, okay, Phantom swore when he was hurt, that was something to make a note of. "Sorry. Just- Just get out of here, okay? I mean, not much help you can do for me seeing as I'm already dead, right?"

"Ri… Right." Dash was talking with a dead superhero. That was crazy. That was so totally- "Right, so, I'll just- I'll just leave now." Except… Phantom looked pretty bad. Dash couldn't quite tell, but the way he was bent over just  _screamed_ that he was in pain. And all that green, glowing stuff… "Are you sure-"

" _Leave_ , Dash!" Holy shit, Danny Phantom knew his name. How did Phantom even know- Oh, ew, he stepped in some of the- The… This stuff wasn't glowing.

"Yeah, hey, hold on a second." Taking out his phone, Dash flipped it so the flashlight was pointed down, turning it on and staring with wide eyes at the puddle of  _red_ under his shoe. That… Dash was kind of an idiot. He knew he was good at sports and not much else, but he knew what blood looked like. He knew what it was to be hurt. The only problem was that the only ones in the alley were him and Phantom. "Phantom, did you see someone else run down here?"

"I'm serious, Dash, you need to get out of here now." Yeah, okay, but there was now blood on the ground and Dash was a jock, but he wasn't  _heartless_.

"Phantom, look, there's obviously…" Having swung around to look at the ghost, his flashlight had followed and now Dash was staring at a ghost that was squinting at the light and covered in red and green in equal amounts. "What the hell…"

"I thought I told you to leave." Whatever bite the words had was easily ignored, Dash only looking from Phantom to the brick wall that looked like he had collapsed against it, that green glowing sludge shit slowly fading into red blood. "Get  _out of here_!"

"Hey, I may not be one of those Fentons, but even I can tell you're hurt and bleeding." Ghosts bled, apparently. Who knew. The fact it was  _red_ , though. That- Ghosts were supposed to be dead, right? So how the hell was his blood or whatever it was turning  _red_.

"'M not bleeding. Ghosts don't bleed." Yeah, right, he lost so much of whatever this shit was that he couldn't  _tell_ he had lost more 'blood' than should probably be healthy for anyone - ghost or human. "Go 'way."

"Just- Why don't you come back to my place until you heal or whatever? I mean, it'd be pretty shitty for me to leave the town hero bleeding in an alleyway, right?" There wasn't a response and it had Dash nervously biting his lip as he stepped closer. "Phantom? Hey, are you-"

Startling back at the bright flash of light, Dash thought something had gone horribly wrong with his phone before he realized his flashlight was fine and that the light had come from  _Phantom_. "Was that some kind of ghost power? Man, that was terrifying! You almost-"

The phone light shined down on a curled up Danny Fenton, blood streaking his arms, cheek, and sides.

Dash was pretty sure he had a million questions buzzing around in his head, but they all fell quiet when he saw just how much blood was on the kid. "Whoa, whoa, hey, Fenton-" Shoving his phone away, Dash rushed over, hands hovering over the other as he not-so-quietly panicked. "Shit, shit, shit, what the fuck, Phantom was just here, oh my god, oh my god, this is crazy, this is so fucking crazy-"

A ragged cough tore it's way out of Danny's throat and Dash barely let himself think before he was pulling the kid into his arms and standing. It wasn't like he was going to get any better in the middle of a dirty alley, and, look, he bullied the kid, but he still had a  _heart_ , jesus. "Hey- Hey, Fenton, you're still with me, right? You doing alright? Come on, Fenton, give me an answer here."

Danny didn't respond and that made Dash rush towards his house all the more. The sane, logical part of his mind was screaming for him to call an ambulance and wash his hands of this fucking mess, but the  _smart_  part of him… Every bit of blood on him had specks of that glowing green shit shining out and that was probably something that a hospital shouldn't see- Would a hospital even be able to  _do_ anything?

Thankful that his coach was insane when it came to keeping in shape, Dash got to his house in record time, fumbling to get the door open before he finally managed and rushed upstairs. "Okay, Fenton, you got a  _hell_ of a lot of explaining to do, so you had better not bleed out on me, got it?"

There was still no response, something that was making Dash more and more nervous. Setting the teen down on his bed as carefully as he could, Dash couldn't stop his wince at the whimper of pain it caused anyways.

"Okay, okay, first aid kit. Fuck, fuck, fuck,  _fuck_." Scrambling to get what he needed, Dash cobbled together what he could from various drama medical shows, rushing back to his room and grabbing a pair of scissors. "Seeing as you probably have five exact copies of this shirt, I think you'll forgive me for this."

With that, Dash began cutting the shirt open to see how bad he was bleeding and just where he was bleeding  _from_. He felt the distant urge to vomit at seeing what a  _wreck_ the chest was. It wasn't just the jagged tear that tore across his side and up to his chest, but it was the fact his chest was  _covered_ in blood, bruises, and scars.

"Fuck, Fenton…" It felt so  _wrong_. It felt wrong to have this sixteen-year-old kid, who looked like he was still fourteen, bleeding on his bedspread. He shouldn't be bleeding out in Dash's messy bedroom that was as normal as it could be. This was so wrong and it  _felt_ so wrong because it was like two worlds clashing that should  _not_ be clashing. "Fuck, man,  _fuck_."

"Dash?" Startling at the sound of his name, Dash snapped his eyes over to where Danny was looking at him with eyes that were blue- Green? No, there was- Fuck. "Where…"

"My room- House. Shut up, I'm trying to focus." Okay, okay, he knew enough to know that the fucking gash on him needed to be fixed up. Stitches?  _Fuck_ , why didn't Dash know what he was  _doing_. "Fuck, Fenton, I think we need to call someone, here. Someone who can sew."

"Sew… Oh. Don't worry about it." Don't- What the  _fuck_. "Just get some of that antibiotic or vaseline cream or whatever-"

" _Fenton_ \- You are fucking  _bleeding out_  onto my  _bed_! What the  _fuck_ -"

"This is why I told you to leave." Oh, yeah, cause Dash so wanted to have a dead kid on his conscious. That would be just  _great_. "Jesus, of all the people to find me it had to be  _you_."

"I'm not exactly cheering about all this, either!" He found a hurt Phantom in the middle of an alleyway and now suddenly it was Fenton talking back at him and saying not to worry about the fact he was  _bleeding_ \- Shit. "Just- Jesus, what do I do, here?"

"Like I said, got any of that cream stuff?" Not willing to question it when the other was looking so pale, Dash dug through the kit until he pulled out two jars and a tube of the stuff. "Okay, so just rub that over whatever's cut open."

"Whatever- We're talking about a gash the size of your fucking arm." Dash unscrewed the jars anyway, swallowing as he doubled back to put a pair of old, crumpled up latex gloves on because he really didn't want to touch blood that was kind of sort of glowing green.

"Just do it!" Swearing and cursing to himself, Dash began to do as told, trying not to be too grossed out at all the blood as he rubbed the stuff over the gash. It was at least stopping the bleeding, but it still needed  _stitches_.

"This isn't going to magically fix you, you know," Dash finally said, using both jars and near all of the tube before he was satisfied. "It's also probably stinging like hell."

"I've had worse," Danny muttered, staring at Dash. "Stitches aren't worth it. It'll be healed by tonight."

"Bull fucking  _shit_ , Fenton. Humans don't heal that fast-"

"I'm not human."

Three words. They were three words, but they seemed to ring out and get louder and blast in Dash's head on repeat for what felt like an eternity before he shook his head because no- No. He was living. He was bleeding.

"That's not funny." Dash had felt him breathing when he had run here and he had felt the kid's heartbeat when trying to stop him from bleeding. He wasn't- What kind of joke- "That's not  _funny_."

"It wasn't supposed to be." Danny tried to turn and Dash was stopping him at once, glaring at him. Danny glared right back. "I need to go-"

"How! You're pretty much fucking dying!" The stubborn expression didn't leave and  _this_ was why the kid pissed Dash off so badly! He was always so fucking  _self righteous_! "You can't even sit up, I bet."

"I don't need to sit up." Danny smirked, Dash raising an eyebrow as absolutely nothing happened. The smile fell. "Oh."

"Yeah, so, tell me what to do before I get some thread and a sewing needle." The look Danny shot him was cold as the fucking Artic. It was kind of funny. "Now, Fenton."

"Jesus, I told you, it'll heal. Just- Just don't do anything. It's fine." Danny looked away, Dash staring before standing up and heading to the bathroom, soaking a washcloth before walking back out and dropping it on Danny's chest. It was kind of funny to see the other jerk and swear. He wasn't aware Fenton even  _knew_ that many swears. "What the  _fuck_ -"

"Shut up, dried blood sucks to get off so it's better to do it when it's still wet." Dash started scrubbing off the worst of it, avoiding the gash that he was doing his best to not even look at. He was trying to do his best to block out the entire night, honestly.

"How would you know?" Pausing, Dash pushed away a flood of memories, shaking his head roughly and pressing down harder than he needed to.

"Don't worry about it. Now shut up." Jesus, Fenton had scars, bruises, and now that the blood was out of the way, Dash could see he was fucking  _ripped_. Why the hell did he let Dash push him around when he was like  _this_? How… How many of those bruises were caused by Dash-

"No, seriously, how do you know that. I mean, I could believe if it was just a one time broken nose or something, but you made it sound like it's a  _thing_ -"

"Danny." Seeing the other's mouth snap shut, Dash stared at him and thought of what to say that would maybe fix whatever mess he had dropped himself into. Maybe… "We all have our own secrets."

Danny stared at him and he seemed ready to say over a thousand things before he turned his head around. Dash sighed, wondering what the kid would do if Dash told him he knew what it was to have just as many bruises. Jesus, he was just as bad as his old man.

"Look, just, stay here and rest, okay? I have to go make dinner before my old man gets home." Wiping away the last of it, Dash dropped the cloth on top of the first aid kid, ripping the gloves off as well. "I'll, I don't know, I'll bring you something up later, I guess."

"You could have left me there. I wasn't your problem." Pausing at that, Dash looked up to meet eyes that didn't belong to the wimpy kid he had bullied for years.

"No. I couldn't have." He was fucked up, but he wasn't a monster. "Get some sleep, nerd, you look-" Dead. Phantom. Ghost. Dead.  _Dead_. "-tired."

"Yeah… We probably have a lot to talk about, huh?" Jesus. That meant more than just the whole bleeding out in an alleyway, he bet.

"Yeah. I think we do."


	17. Ghost Tech

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Prompt: Ghost Tech

Alternate Universe: Post show, no Phantom Planet, Trio age ~17

Rating: G+

Author Notes: It's so fun playing with Tucker's point of view, honestly. I love it.

Summary: Tucker knows that he isn't the best and brightest out there, but he's starting to understand just how big a gap there is between where he is and where he needs to be. There's only one person that can help him, but man, it couldn't be anyone  _else_?

::

" _Yes_ , Danny, those are all the notes you need for the final tomorrow. I told you, I recorded the lectures, too. Although you probably won't listen to them."

" _No one ever listens to the recorded lectures!_ " Letting Danny's complaints wash over him, Tucker sighed softly and managed a bit of a smile. He'd take a complaining Danny over an unmoving one any day. " _I miss three days of school and suddenly they think I'm going to go from C's and B's to A's._ "

"I think Lancer just wants you to pass, if it helps. He gave me about twenty sheets of notes to give to you when I told him I was collecting your homework." Three days. Three days of Danny holed up at home and his parents just as unsure as them because they weren't- They were scientists and Tucker and Sam were kids. None of them were doctors. "How are you doing?"

" _Same as when you asked ten minutes ago, buddy. I'm fine, honestly. I think the last of it is finally clearing up._ " The Fentons had figured it was some ghost version of the flu virus, but Tucker was going to bet it was something else considering how Danny had been throwing up  _ectoplasm_  at some points and he was burning up- He had  _ice powers_ and his fever had been out of control. " _Where are you, anyways? The wind is going crazy on your end._ "

"Just walking to that parts store to fix up the thermos again," Tucker lied easily, trying to push the memories away. He never wanted to think on that time again - him, Danny, and Sam all curled up in a freezing cold shower, Danny shaking to pieces between them and sobbing roughly. "I wanted to fiddle with my PDA a bit more, too. Sam's coming by later-"

" _Ugh, yes, she'll be here in half an hour._ " Even through the groaning, Tucker could tell Danny was grinning. " _And you need to chill out on all that tech stuff. It wasn't your fault and you know it._ "

"Sam should have her own notes if mine aren't making sense. I'll call you after I'm done, okay?" Not his fault. Yeah, right. He was supposed to be- When his tech failed, then what  _good_ was he?

" _Yeah, okay. And that ghost getting out wasn't your fault, Tuck. Me getting sick wasn't your fault, either. Honestly, and you two call me hero-complexed._ "

"Later, buddy," Tucker laughed, hanging up the phone and letting his smile dropped as he stopped in front of the gates that blocked the path up to a ridiculously huge mansion. "Right. Now or never then, huh?"

Swallowing down his fear, which was pretty damn great, Tucker pressed the call button and nervously cleared his throat when he was asked to identify himself. "Uh, hi, Mr. Masters Plasmius sir? I, um- You probably don't know me, but I'm a friend of Danny's. Tucker Foley?"

There was a sharp, loud buzz before the gates opened rather dramatically, Tucker staring before making a face. "I had hoped we could just exchange phone numbers or something." The gates started to close and Tucker swore before quickly running through them, near losing his shirt in the process. "Okay! Thank you! For, uh, seeing me, I guess?"

Nothing was coming up out of the ground and shooting at him, at least, and Plasmius wasn't appearing to break his and Danny's new truce and kidnap Tucker and use him as a bargaining chip, so that was good! That- That was very good.

Getting to the front door after a walk up a drive that was long enough to make Tucker regret every single choice in his life, he swallowed all of his fear and pride and gave a light, quiet knock. The door opened near at once.

"Ah, Mr. Foley. To what do I owe the pleasure of conversing with one of Daniel's  _idiosyncratic_ acquaintances?" Okay, Tucker understood all of those words separately. Maybe.

"Hey, Mr. Masters Plasmius sir." Being polite never hurt, right? At least Tucker wasn't calling him Fruitloop. Danny would have found it great, but Danny wasn't here to protect him from being killed. "I, uh, I had a question I kind of wanted to ask you?"

"How unfortunate for you that I seem to be all out of answers. Do make sure the gates shut on your way out." Seeing the door start to close, Tucker took a page from Danny's book and impulsively jumped forward to slip inside before it fully shut, flashing Plasmius a weak grin. "Would you rather the police escort you out?"

"Please, we both know I have at least three things on me that could revert you back to your ghost form." Okay, Tucker, just breathe in and out and don't think about the fact that he was  _threatening Plasmius_.

"Daniel and his friends," Plasmius muttered dryly, door shutting with a snap. "Speak quickly. I might be in a truce with Daniel, but that does not meant I am here to play mentor to his little friends."

"Right." Tucker was starting to see what Danny meant about punching Plasmius when spending longer than ten seconds around him. "I want to ask if you would teach me more about building and using ghost hunting technology."

"Excuse me." Yeah, wow, no, that was not a good look Tucker was getting right then. Okay. Right. Deep breath. Doing this for Danny. Danny who would do the same thing if their situations were reversed - and probably more. Ugh. Okay. Right.

"Please teach me more about building and using ghost weapons. Everything you'd be willing to teach me." Yeah, wow, no, the look got worse. "This isn't a joke or a ploy to get more information, I swear. It's just- I  _need_ to know."

"And just  _why_ , Mr. Foley, do  _you_  need to know these things? As far as I was aware you do not have any ghost powers to worry about. Your family is not in the business of hunting or detaining ghosts. You have no part in this world-"

"Fuck you." The words slipped out before he could stop them, Tucker  _horrified_ when Plasmius' eyes flashed red.

"Excuse me." Okay, right, here was where he begged for forgiveness.

"I said fuck. You." Except he had been spending too much time around his outspoken friends and this was… He couldn't back down from this. "You can't say this isn't my world when I haven't been out there every night since I was fourteen helping my best friend defend the town from  _monsters_."

"If you truly think ghosts are monsters-" Tucker didn't even let him finish, just talking louder and bolder.

"They are when they attack my town and everyone in it just for fun! I was pulled into this fight and maybe I didn't have to join it, but I sure as hell can't leave it. I need to learn more about this technology and how to  _use_ it. I can't just stand by and pretend this is all some game or afterschool activity when my friend could  _die_ any day!"

"He's already dead." It felt like the air had been sucked out of the room and it took everything Tucker had to not shake himself to pieces. "Whatever life Daniel had ended the moment he stepped through that portal. He may not be completely dead, but who he was certainly died."

"Bullshit." The red eyes weren't so scary anymore. Not when he remembered what had just almost happened because he - because Tucker - wasn't good enough. "And if it is true, then my life ended with his and I'm just as big a part of this as he is."

"Are you really?" Drawing himself up, Tucker nodded as strong as he could. He wasn't scared. Not when he knew that this might be the only way to get stronger.

"I can't fight. I can't do what Danny does, but I will run myself to the  _ground_ helping him as best I can. Danny's not just my best friend. He's- He's my  _brother_. We've been by each other's sides since we were five. I'm not leaving him now. I can't fight, but I can do other things. I'm good with tech, but I'm not good enough. I need to get  _better_."

"So you come to me. Why not go to Daniel's parents? They have the technology as well - in fact, I rather believe that's where you've been getting your own equipment these days."

"Used to. I build everything myself now." If Tucker was any crazier, then he might have admitted that he saw  _pride_ in Plasmius' eyes. "I need to get better. Danny's strong, but there are stronger things out there. You wouldn't have made a truce with him if there wasn't."

"Mm." Plasmius stared at him for a second more before turning and walking away, Tucker feeling every ounce of hope jerked out of him. "You could have merely studied their blueprints."

"I did. I need to get better and you know how ghosts work. They don't, yet." Tucker watched Plasmius not even stop as he glanced back to him.

"Well? I'll only waste so much of my time with this venture, Mr. Foley." Wait- That was- Oh, holy shit.

"Yes sir, Mr. Masters Plasmius sir." Tucker was running after him at once and while he still had the feeling he was about to be stabbed in the back, he at least knew he would learn something while he was there. Maybe this was what interns felt like for supervillains. Hm. That actually seemed rather accurate. "I can handle whatever you throw at me."

"We'll see." Yes, he would.


	18. Eclipse

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Prompt: Eclipse

Alternate Universe: Post show, no Phantom Planet, Senior Year of High School

Rating: G

Author Notes: Honestly, I just love writing from the POVs of characters that aren't really 'main' characters. It's so interesting!

Summary: Star has always been the satellite, but even the moon could eclipse the sun, right?

::

"So are the essays optional, or…" Looking up at Dash, Star tried not to laugh at the teen's helpless expression. "Why is it asking about credits? I don't- I haven't taken a college class yet?"

"That's for if you take an AP class or something, I think," Paulina sighed, flipping through a stack of her college admission papers. "This should not be that hard. Why is this so hard?"

"Do I need a math class if I'm going into basketball?" Kawn asked, voice rather flat as he balanced his chin  _on_ a basketball. It was nice to see he had found a sport he loved so much instead of following after Dash to football. Star reached over to lightly pat him on the shoulder. "I don't need a math class, do I?"

"You need at least one college math class," Star said, looking at her own papers. "Unless you're going into a specialized field."

"Staaar, I need help," Paulina whined, reaching out towards her from across the table. "You'll come over and help me with this, won't you?"

"Of course I will," Star laughed, looking to the boys. "You two are welcome to joins us for a while. I can walk you through the basics-" Alright, she was being hugged by both of them, now.

"We're so sorry for every bad thing we've ever said about nerds ever." That had Star laughing even more, hugging the two back. The first few years of high school may have been hell where they had to stick to their assigned 'roles,' but they had figured it out near the end there.

"Alright, alright, shoo. I need to go talk to Danny about our science class." Star wiggled her way out with her papers in her arms, grinning as Dash complained about the loss of his punching bag. Star knew for a fact they hung out at the park and walked their dogs together every few days.

"Hey, Star!" Danny saw her before she saw him, the teen working his way over to her before holding out a shiny packet with a smug grin. "Guess who got the applications?"

"Danny, you are  _amazing_." Taking one of the applications for the college that had the  _best_ NASA sponsored program, Star bounced on the tips of her toes. "How did you get these? There's no centers near here!"

"I made a little trip," Danny shrugged, still grinning. "Star buddies stick together, right?" Bumping the first with her own, Star shook her head.

"You're lucky I like star puns as much as you do." The other's grin got even wider, Star tucking her application away at the top of her pile. "How are your college applications going, then?"

The look she was given said it all, really. "Tucker's trying to double major, Sam wants to go into the green peacekeeper program or whatever, and my parents are wearing their old college gear to try and 'subtly' get me to go there."

"Ouch," Star winced sympathetically. "And your sister?" Because Star remembered Jazz from before she left and she was always… Well.

"Surprisingly supportive, all things considered. She keeps reassuring me that she'll be proud no matter what I choose, but I think that's only because she's using me to prove some kind of point to her teacher about sibling bonds? I don't know, I block her out a lot. How about you?"

"Oh. Um. Good?" At the look, Star sighed and shuffled her papers again. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that we all finally matured and there's no 'jock vs nerd' war or whatever was happening, but it's still…"

"Yeah. I get it." The thing was, Danny probably  _did_ get it. He was one of the kids who had never really clicked with anyone beyond his two friends, and even now that they had survived four years of high school together, he was still a bit distant. "Hard to break a habit, right?"

"Very." Nerds weren't cool or pretty and they didn't survive high school. Star may not have been good enough to be the head cheerleader, but she was a good enough actor to play the satellite and revolve around Paulina and her life. It had worked out well, for a time. "I just… I want to show them what I can do, but…"

"But you're too afraid of losing that mask you built up, right?" They had underestimated Danny the most out of all of them, it felt like. "You know, as dorky as I'm about to sound, your name is  _Star_. I think at this point you shine well enough on your own, don't you?"

"Aw." That was- Aw! Lunging at the other in a hug, Star held him tightly and laughed at his whining and complaining. "I can see why Paulina had that crush on you all throughout middle school."

"Yeah, I am pretty- Wait. What?" Letting Danny go, Star sucked a deep breath in. She felt better already. "No, really, Star, what do you mean  _Paulina_ had a crush on  _me_?"

"Oh, don't worry, she's over it." Right. It  _was_ her time to shine, wasn't it? "Catch you later, Danny."

"No- Star, wait!" Sure that he would email her if it was important, Star ran back off to join her friends, the NASA sponsored program application at the top of her pile. Danny was right. It  _was_ her time to shine.

"Star,  _another_ one? Haven't you already filled out a dozen applications!" Paulina pouted as Star waved her hands away, clutching the papers defensively.

"And this will make it a dozen plus one." Paulina had outshone everyone during their high school years. She had been the sun of Caspar High, but Star- She had been a satellite, but even the moon could eclipse the sun when the time was right.

"I don't know how you do it, Star," Dash sighed. "When you're rich and famous in the future, can you take us on pity trips to places?"

"I'll make sure to have a private jet in your name, Dash." She had pushed herself down and made herself dumb and vapid in high school, but it was time for that to end. Valerie, bless her, had seen it first. She had lost everything and then she  _became_ everything.

That's what Star had to do. She was losing the comfort and security of knowing her place and knowing her role, but the future- Oh, the future was going to be so much  _brighter_. She would eclipse the role she had been playing and she was going to shine brighter than them all.

Maybe she and Danny both could shine bright enough to touch the stars. There was a reason Star had always loved her name, after all.

"Don't worry, guys. I have a good feeling about the next few years."


	19. 10 Years Later

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Prompt: 10 Years Later

Alternate Universe: Post show, Danny age ~24, no Phantom Planet, but Amity Park is aware of Fenton/Phantom identity

Rating: G+

Author Notes: I had a lot planned for this one originally, but I shortened it because I didn't want to spend hours and hours writing 25,000 words for this. I've learned to cut myself off before I really get going.

Summary: Tiffany Snow, Amity Park reporter, is starting to get tired of their 'Ghost Reports' that they do everyday. It would probably be better to pretend Amity Park was a normal town, but she had to admit that she wouldn't move for anything in the world. A vacation didn't sound so bad, though.

::

"Welcome to Amity Park Ghost Watch! We join you now at the top of the hour to bring you news of a new ghost that has been rampaging through the streets of Amity Park since early this morning!" Tiffany Snow, professional news reporter of Amity Park, took a brief moment to ponder on how crazy her life had become. Then she smiled wider and kept talking because at least the town wasn't being ruled by an evil king. Again. "The ghost has been reportedly rearranging the town by using powers that allow objects to switch places with another object."

These ghost powers were getting more ridiculous. Really, this was as bad as the one that liked to go around hunting things- At least he wasn't as bad as that one who granted wishes that turned everything bad. Tiffany still remembered the fur coat she had wished for. There had been fur, but not really a coat.

"We take you now to our reporter on the scene, Lance Thunder." Waiting for an image to come up on screen, Tiffany gave a smile as she saw that Lance, while smiling, looked as done as she felt. "How are things going down there, Lance?"

" _Good morning Tiffany Snow and Amity Park! I'm just outside of Fenton Works, the local residency of the town's self-proclaimed ghost scientists and hunters, and let me tell you, it's been a doozy of a fight so far!_ " The camera swung around to show bright blasts of lights that seemed more fitted to a Saturday morning cartoon show. " _Our local town hero, Danny Fenton, better known as Danny Phantom, engaged with the unknown ghost not long ago and has been battling him since._ "

"Well, it's good to know that our town hero is on the case. Can you tell us anymore about those new powers the ghost has been showing off, Lance?" The camera moved to where there was a large building in the middle of the street and, well. That was new.

" _As you can see, Tiffany, the ghost has the power to switch objects around. Many buildings have been relocated to different places, some of which include-_ " There was a great rumbling sound and the camera followed the sight of Fenton Works disappearing and reappearing above Phantom's head. There was a jerk as if the cameraman was ready to run before the building was caught with bright green energy and lowered to the ground safely where it had been - although it was turned around another way. " _It seems that the ghost has escaped, but no one has been hurt at the time-_ "

" _Yeah, you better run, you fucker!_ " A woman wearing mostly black and purple ran across the camera's frame, firing a  _bazooka_  at the sky and ah, that must be Sam Manson. " _Tucker, where's the fucking thermos?!_ "

" _Hey, give me a break, I can't do much when it shatters in my hand because someone grabbed the wrong one this morning!_ "

" _This is why I tell you to label the tech!_ " Ah. Alright, then. Phantom, Sam Manson, and Tucker Foley were all arguing and swearing on live television. Wonderful. As expected, the footage cut out a moment later, Tiffany smiling at her camera as if nothing had happened.

"Well, it looks like that ghost story will have to wait for updates, but for now let's take you to Amy Williams and a short clip of an interview on her new detective series!" The red light went off and Tiffany slumped in her seat. "Fuck, do those idiots never notice when we have cameras around them? Do you know how many complaints we get in!"

"I know, darling, I know," her producer sighed as a makeup team swarmed her. "There's only so much we can do when one of them could kill us in a second, though."

"Oh, really," Tiffany sighed, closing her eyes at the slew of rose blush. "Phantom is scared to even do interviews."

"I was talking about his girlfriend." Ah, well. Sam Manson was certainly a force to be reckoned with, that was true. "One minute, darling."

"We really need to stop doing these ghost segments," Tiffany sighed, downing her vodka-shot coffee. "What's-"

"Update on the ghost!" Blinking as an intern ran up to her with his phone, Tiffany looked at it and groaned. "Twitter places him near the stadium. Lance is on his way."

"Okay, introduce the update, make a few sponsors happy, switch to commercial, and by then Lance will have his cute butt on scene. Sound good, people!" Everyone agreed, her producer nodding at her. "Twenty seconds."

"Is it too late to put in my two weeks?" Tiffany joked, laughing at the look she was given before turning it into a beautiful smile as the red light flicked back on. "Welcome back, Amity Park! Remember that Amy Williams' book comes out June 24th this year! An update on the new ghost that is attacking Amity Park shows that he is heading towards the town stadium where our local college's football team is holding their latest practice.

"While we get ready to follow up this story, we want to take a moment to thank the mothers that put so much time and effort into supporting their families and holding them together. Sanchez Jewelers, especially, supports mothers and the hard lives they lead these days and that's why they're holding a mother's day sale this weekend where everything will be half off. Take time out of your day to treat yourself to the happiness that you deserve."

The light went off and Tiffany groaned loudly, "Does  _anyone_ look at these things before we read them? That was a horrible sponsoring! I wouldn't shop at them with a sponsoring like that!"

"Let's hope the commercial they made does better," someone snorted, Tiffany groaning as her coffee cup was swapped out. She made sure to spice it up with her own mixture of pure vodka. She needed it for what she put up with. "Back on air in forty!"

"Right, okay. Lance better have his ass down there." Putting on a bright smile, Tiffany waited until the light popped on again. "Lance Thunder, our ghost reporter specialist, is down at the stadium and ready to look into just what it is that's been going on in our fair town today. Lance, what do you see so far?"

" _Well, Tiffany, it, uh, it seems like-_ " Lance just barely stopped himself from swearing as he and the camera swerved out of the way of bleachers that were dropped upon their heads. Tiffany stared and holy fuck, they so did not get paid enough for this job. " _Bad! Things are bad! Very bad!_ "

What proceeded to follow had to be one of the most bizzare stories they had ever reported on. The ghost, who looked to be hovering around teenager age, looked to be throwing a temper tantrum over something and was wrecking Amity Park in the process of dealing with his very obviously displaced aggression.

Within the two hours they reported on him he destroyed the football field and sent the team into a frenzy of trying to help and instead the Quarterback, Dash Baxter, had trapped Phantom within his own containment device.

The ghost, who no one could get the name of, then crashed an interview that Paulina Sanchez was doing and wrecked $100,00 worth of jewelry. They had gotten very nice footage of Paulina and Sam screaming at each other as Phantom cowered behind the latter.

They followed the fight to an observatory where Star Anderson, completing a short intern before her return to NASA, had happily taken over their broadcast to talk about the new star system they had discovered. Phantom had joined the conversation and the two had gotten so excited they almost missed the ghost trying to drop equipment on them. Almost.

Lance and his crew had then run into the Red Huntress and were left stranded on a seven story building when trying to get an exclusive interview with her. Phantom dropped by and helped them to the ground, complaining about their network with Lance viciously agreeing - Tiffany was certain he was going to be fired after today.

They had landed right among the Red Huntress arguing with the Captain of the Amity Park Police Force, Phantom trying to diffuse the situation and instead being dragged into the fight as Tucker Foley was kidnapped - briefly. He managed to shock him and the ghost with some malfunctioning technology and only had his fall broken by Captain Wes Weston being under him at the time.

It all escalated to a final fight that ended as abruptly as it started with Danielle Phantom, a younger cousin of Phantom's, chatting to the ghost as if they were old friends and talking him down from his anger.

It all led up to the final interview Lance was doing, Tiffany wincing at how shaken he looked, " _M- Mr. Phantom, a word, if possible? How did today's fight compare with the other fights over the past ten years?_ "

Phantom looked dead into the camera and Tiffany felt the man's suffering on a level that she usually only experienced at three in the morning when she had overdosed on coffee and had five reports still due. " _I'm too old for this._ "

"Oh, the poor thing," Tiffany said quietly, blinking at seeing the red light was on again. "Ah- Thank you, Lance, for your hard work and today's ghost report. Our thoughts go out to those brave souls fighting for our town's safety. Stay tuned for a news story about Casper High's new arts building and a sweet story about a now empty animal adoption center. Stay safe and have a great afternoon, Amity Park!"

The light went off, Tiffany collapsed back into her seat, and laughter bubbled out of her. For as crazy as this town was and for as much shit as they had all been through in the past ten years, she wouldn't move for the world.

Although an extended vacation to a beach didn't sound so bad, when she thought about it.


	20. Worldbuilding

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Prompt: Worldbuilding

Alternate Universe: Starts in 1983, skips to Danny age ~17

Pairing: Established Iambic Prose after time skip

Rating: G+

Author Notes: So I made this in response to the one my girlfriend made HERE, and all those snippets of Ghostwriter's 'stories' are snippets of my own work in progress novels! I had a lot of fun writing them, so I hope you have a lot of fun enjoying them - I might post them separately on my writing blog later.

Summary: Andrew Riter, now going by the Ghostwriter, finds a curious keyboard when still getting used to his new state of life. He's not quite sure what it does, but he might as well figure it out - it's not like the dead had much time to lose.

::

"Hello… What's this?" Pushing a few old papers aside that looked similar to aged newspaper, Andrew Riter blinked down at what looked like a sleek, white computer keyboard. "Strange."

As usual, there was no one to answer his musings as he pulled the keyboard out - not that he was surprised. Andrew had only been a ghost for a few short months, but he knew he was alone. Even if there were other ghosts in this hell, he knew he wouldn't want to meet them. He and his brother both had feared the dead too much- His brother…  _Randy_.

Shaking his thoughts off quickly, Andrew swallowed as he sat back and inspected the keyboard more closely. It didn't look anything like what he was used to and if it weren't for the letters and numbers labelling the keys then he would have never guessed this was a keyboard. It looked like something from the future, not from the year 1983.

Turning it over in his hands, he noticed that there were no indents on the back or any places for wires to connect to or come out of. In fact, it almost looked like a toy - he would have passed it off as such if it wasn't for the fact that the keyboard was… Not quite glowing, but there was something about the way it was made that gave him pause.

Sitting down on the floor where he had found it, Andrew set it across his lap, staring at it in contemplation. "It would be nice to use something beyond pen and paper to write, of course." This library had not crossed over with the computers the college had and there was no trace of a typewriter in sight. He had been making due with the pencils and spare paper he had found, but he was getting low and desperate enough to contemplate using the empty pages on the back of the older books that had come with him to… wherever he was.

"Of course, you would only be useful with a screen, wouldn't-"  _Something_ flashed in front of Andrew. He was up and on his feet with a knife pulled out in near a heartbeat, eyes wide as he saw… As he saw nothing. There was no one in front of him and no strange objects, but he had seen  _something_. "He… Hello?" He wasn't sure if he was grateful that there wasn't an answer or not.

Swallowing and creeping forward, Andrew paused when he almost stepped on the keyboard. The keyboard. Sitting back down, Andrew dropped his knife and placed the keyboard back on his lap. Nothing. "Screen?" Purple light appeared and Andrew blinked as he stared at a  _screen_. It wasn't- It looked like a hologram. Or at least, it looked like how holograms had been described in the books he had read and the stories he had written.

"Right. Alright. Nothing to worry about. Nothing but a keyboard that can hear and respond to me. Right." He had fallen into one of his novels and he wasn't sure how to feel about that. Actually, if it was one of  _his_ novels then he was rather justly terrified. "Okay. Um…"

The screen was blank and purple and there seemed to be a trimming of green around it. There was nothing on it to indicate just  _what_ it was doing there. "Pull up new document?" The screen flickered and there was now a blinking cursor in the top left corner of the screen, Andrew staring with wide eyes and oh, wow. "Are- Are there any saved documents?" Nothing happened, Andrew frowning and okay, think like Ches- No. Bad. Ches was bad. Think like Peter.

"Pull up saved documents." The screen flickered and a window was pulled up that was light green and had 'EMPTY' flashing across it. "Right. Great. Okay. Aha- Ha! Alright, then!" Was he panicking? Andrew was pretty sure he was panicking. Screw it, he deserved to panic. "Okay, okay, okay, um, new- New document."

The window disappeared and he was back to staring at the blinking cursor. Swallowing, Andrew wracked his brain before lining his fingers up on the keyboard and typing out a simple line.

 _The oddity, fittingly enough, was found among scraps of old newspapers from long ago. Perhaps it was birthed from the past or perhaps it was left by someone who wished to return there, but the keyboard was sleek and shining and did not belong to the world it was in_.

"Nothing happening so far." Well, no, there were words appearing, but it wasn't causing the world around him to self-destruct or any such nonsense, so this was already better than most things! Chewing on his lower lip, Andrew nervously tapped the keys lightly enough that none of them were pressed down. "Right. Um. Save?" 'FILE SAVED' flashed across the screen, Andrew blinking before frowning. "View saved documents."

The window opened again, Andrew seeing that there was now a file in there labelled as 'DOCUMENT 1' and oh, no, he would not stand for that. "Close window." Oh, hey, that worked! "Save file as New Beginnings." 'SAVED'. "Ha, easy as can be." He'd have a breakdown later, but for now it was  _working_. Right. What else could he do with this?

"New document." The words he had typed disappeared and he was left with a fresh new page. Interesting. "Right. Right, a story." Biting his lip, Andrew looked around the room for any inspiration before he sighed. "I suppose I can just rewrite what I've done before."

" _I lied, you know." The words were softly spoken and Andrea half hoped that Peter wouldn't have heard them. He did, of course. He always heard her._

" _Oh? You might have to be a bit more specific. I have a feeling you've lied about a lot of things." As reluctant as she was to admit it, that did get a laugh out of her._

" _I… It wasn't my dream to sign up for the Air Corps." There was silence from Peter and Andrea knew he wouldn't speak again until she was done. He was both kind and cruel like that. "I mean- I've always admired the Iron Admiral, you know? He's the kind of hero you grow up hearing stories about! But I- I never wanted to_ _ **join**_ _. It was- I was being chased._

" _I've told you a bit of it by now, right? Foster brat bounced around different homes? I didn't like the one I was in then so I left and I got into some trouble. It's- When you're on the streets you do what it takes. When you don't have anything, you do whatever it takes to get_ _ **something**_ _. Long story short, I took something from the wrong group. I don't… I don't know what they would have done to me if I hadn't run into the Admiral. He wanted an excuse and I-"_

" _You told him you wanted to join the Corps," Peter finished, Andrea nodding with a laugh that she knew didn't sound anything like a laugh should. It was dark, and bitter, and drenched in the lie she had built around herself. "You don't want to be here."_

" _I didn't." Andrea looked out over the edge of the ship -_ _ **her**_ _ship - and breathed in deeply. "I didn't want anything to do with a kingdom that would throw their kids over the cliff just as soon as they would save one to look good. The royals, the system, the way it's all done- It's so_ _ **stupid**_   _and I hate it all, but… I don't know about the Corps, but this crew isn't about just serving blindly, is it?"_

" _If it was, do you think I would still be here?" That managed to get another laugh out of her, Andrea looking down to her pocket watch and idly spinning the turner. It stayed silent as always. "We're all here for one reason or another, Andy."_

" _Yeah." This was the ship full of those who were seen as the rejects. The lost and broken and damaged ones who had no use. This… This was the ship full of dreamers. "It's funny, though, that I found a home in the_ _ **last**_ _place I ever wanted to be in."_

" _That's typically how it works." There was a warm silence, Andrea trying not to jump when she felt a hand cover hers. "I find that doesn't have to be a bad thing, however."_

" _No…" The ship that she had heard only stories of had become her home and she was finding she wanted her lie to become the truth. "No, I don't think it is."_

_A life of_

Pausing to adjust his glasses, Andrew glanced back to the screen and promptly had the urge to throw it across the room because there was now  _an airship right in front of him_. Taking a moment to stay utterly still and see if it was about to attack him, Andrew slowly let himself relax when he saw the airship was just… floating.

"Curiouser and curiouser, yes?" No one answered him, but Andrew couldn't help but feel as if  _something_ agreed because that airship- It was  _The Singing Maelstrom_. It was the ship Andrew had written about for years and it was the ship he had even dreamed about. If he squinted, he could almost make out two humanoid figures on the bow of the ship.

It didn't seem to be real since nothing happened when Andrew threw the knife through it, but it was definitely there in front of him. A hologram made by the keyboard? Why? Shaking his head, Andrew took a breath and alright. Maybe it was  _The Soundless Clock_ that caused this to happen where he had put so much time and care into that book. Maybe one of his more recent ones would react differently?

" _Fine! I'll be in town cutting my hair, dying it black, getting a belly button piercing, and picking out a tattoo if you need me!" Slamming the door shut behind her as hard as she could, and displeased when it only made a muffled sort of noise, Sage near screamed as she stomped off into the woods. "You can't keep me trapped here forever!"_

_Making a face at the people who were staring, because that's apparently what people did in small towns, Sage headed into the woods as quickly as she could. She wasn't stupid enough to step off the dirt path, but she quickened her pace so she didn't have to be around that camp any longer than necessary._

" _Stupid sheriff." God, it wasn't- Her mom had never_ _ **once**_ _mentioned this Sheriff Greene and how,_ _ **apparently**_ _, he was a childhood friend that she had grown up with- What even was that? That wasn't- Sage and her mom didn't have secrets. They didn't… Hadn't…_

 _Picking up a rock and throwing it as hard as she could at one of the trees, Sage winced as she felt the strain in her shoulder which just made her even more irritated. "I hate you." God, how had this all- She wasn't even sure who she was_ _**talking** _ _to anymore. "I_ _**hate** _ _you."_

 _She didn't stop walking no matter how much her body screamed for her to take a breath. She knew she was going to be screwed over later when it came to getting the strength up to go back, but she didn't care. She didn't_ _**care** _ _._

 _Sage wasn't sure how long she walked until she started calming down, but when she finally did stop her legs were burning, her feet felt sore, and there was sweat_ _**everywhere** _ _on her. She didn't let herself sit down on the ground, though, instead choosing to stand and look around the clearing she had ended up in._

 _It really was beautiful. She had always loved drawing and painting pictures of the woods that she had printed off from her computer, but now that she was here it just… A picture couldn't compare. She kind of hated herself for how much she_ _**didn't** _ _hate it, but, well. She was starting to get a little bit tired of hate. Maybe that meant she was getting better._

" _Oh great and mighty woods!" Raising her arms out like she would when speaking to a god, Sage tried not to laugh as she pictured Stacy if she was here. She would be doing the same thing while calling her crazy, no doubt. "I ask you for your guidance!"_

_A breeze whipped around her, Sage laughing at the timing of it all. Closing her eyes, Sage took a deep breath and let the wind cool her down, some of the uncomfortable pain leaving for a few brief moments. It wasn't fair that it was Sage standing in this beautiful clearing. Her mother was the one who had loved the forest. Stacy was the one who did strange little things that didn't make sense and loved the 'aesthetic' of nature. Sage…_

" _Any advice would be great." Sage was a city girl. She had lived in big cities and she knew her way around the dark streets and seedy transportation better than she would ever know her way around the woods. "This isn't supposed to be my world." It wasn't. It wasn't, so why was this starting to feel like_ _ **home**_ _?_

_Sighing, Sage walked over to one of the trees, patting at it gently. "At least you don't judge a girl for talking to herself." Leaning against the tree for a moment, Sage looked up to the canopy of leaves that caused filtering sunbeams to flicker through. It was so beautiful and she kept feeling like she couldn't even properly appreciate it._

_Glancing around and seeing she was well and truly alone, Sage braced herself as she sucked in a deep breath. There was something she had always kind of wanted to do, but never had the courage to._

_Cupping her hands around her mouth, Sage sucked in as much air as possible before she_ _**howled** _ _. She put everything she had into it. All of her frustration, all of her anger, all of glee, all of the wild abandon, and every scrap of courage that allowed her to finally do something so silly._

_Her air ran out and the howl trailed off into silence, Sage breathing raggedly as laughter started bubbling out of her and-_

_A howl came from behind her._

Looking up cautiously, Andrew slowly grinned as he saw an image of towering trees and a wolf peeking out from behind them. The wolf blinked and disappeared. "Incredible." Getting excited now, Andrew spaced down a few lines to start a new entry, wracking through his mind for his most recent novel. If it worked like the other two, then maybe…

" _Nope, no, I changed my mind. Yeah, you know what, let's just stay right here. Doesn't that sound like fun?" Star didn't even get to stand fully before Ches was pushing her back down into her seat and buckling the belt over her. "Hey- Hey, no, that's not- Kidnapping!"_

" _Star," Ches sighed, cupping her cheek and probably making her flush as red as the ship they were on. "At your age it's called abduction."_

" _You ass." Kicking him hard in the chest, Star rolled her eyes when he went down laughing. "Okay, maybe I do still want to do this, but I'm starting to think that maybe we shouldn't use this ship? Or any ship of yours?"_

" _Hey! My ship is the best ship in the galaxy, I'll have you know!" Ha- Aha! He couldn't be serious. There was no way he was serious. This rust bucket looked as if it had barely managed to_ _ **land**_ _when she first saw it come in at the docks. "There's more to her than you know."_

" _Yeah. Okay. Right. Great. Can I leave, now?" Instead of becoming sane and agreeing this was too dangerous, Ches gave her cheek a pat and near bounced up to the control panel. "This is a very small ship for travelling the galaxy, you know."_

" _Yeah, it is." That was all she was going to get? Ches had rambled for weeks while fixing his ship about all there was out there and_ _ **now**_ _was when he chose to get coy on her? Bastard. He knew it worked. "Right, we should be just about ready."_

" _Just about? Why just about?" Blinking as Ches spun around in his seat - they could spin? - Sage swallowed when he looked her right in the eye. "Ches?"_

" _I need you to be honest with me right now, okay? Whatever I ask, you have to answer with complete honesty." That… That didn't sound like the goofy, hyper Ches she had come to know. She really should back out now. She shouldn't leave her colony. There was no place for her out in the stars. She… "Do you have any living family in this colony?"_

" _Yes." At Ches' look, Star looked away. "Cora, at the diner? She's my aunt on my mom's side. She's been helping to look after me since my family died."_

" _Would she want you to come back if you left? Did you even tell her you were leaving?"_

" _Yes. I told her." Star shut her eyes, trying not to think about the heartbreak in her aunt's eyes when she had come down the stairs with a single bag and wearing the headband that had been her mother's. "She won't try to get me back."_

" _That wasn't my question." No, it wasn't, but Star wasn't going to answer that one because she knew what the answer was. "Are you going to regret leaving more than you would regret staying-"_

" _Never." The word escaped passed her lips before she could stop it, eyes cracking open to see Ches' eyes looking back into hers. The swirling violet colors caught her attention just as they had when she had first seen them. "I'd regret staying for the rest of my life."_

" _Do you want to come with me?" It was the same question that she had been asked over and over again before she had finally said yes with a voice full of hesitation and doubt. She didn't hesitate this time._

" _Yes." The two were silent before Star gave a small, nervous smile. "Fly me away to the stars?" Ches stared at her before he grinned wild and free._

" _To the moon and back, then?" Ches laughed, moving to flip a set of switches in an order that didn't make sense, but that was okay._

" _Beyond it. For as far as we can go." Star had time to learn everything. She had time to_ _ **see**_ _everything._

" _Forever seems a long way."_

" _Then we'd better get started."_

_Star looked forward and felt the need for adventure stirring in her veins, her breath coming fast as she laughed and threw herself forward hands braced against the console and come on. Come on. The world is waiting and the stars are right there and-_

" _Let's go."_

Much more eager when looking up this time, Andrew beamed and laughed in delight when he saw the ship from the story ready to take off towards the moon that was above it. He had figured he was a ghost and he knew he could do basic ghost things - flying and phasing through objects and becoming invisible - but this? This was something else  _entirely_.

"Save as Old Ideas. Open new document." The screen cleared and the images disappeared like fog on a summer morning, Andrew grinning as he tapped his fingers against the keys for a moment.

_They say dead men tell no tales. Joseph Whitley would like to punch the person who had said that and then introduce him to the dead men who wouldn't shut up._

::

Pausing halfway into the study, Andrew leaned against the doorway and grinned at seeing Danny curled up on the couch and, yet again, reading Andrew's books. When he had agreed to tutor Danny Phantom he hadn't expected the boy to know about his writing and he  _certainly_ hadn't expected to learn how much he  _adored_ it.

"Hey, Andy." Laughing to himself, Andrew walked over and pressed a kiss to Danny's temple, peeking at where he was in the book and, ah. Dirty Paws, today. "So, be honest, how much did you base this dude off of Randy?"

"I believe the character's name  _was_ Randy until I changed it in the final edit." Grinning at the laughter, Andrew waved it off. "I don't always base the characters off people I know." Just the main characters.

"Alright, I'll pretend to believe that lie." Danny looked like he had more to say before he glanced down at the book and promptly got distracted, Andrew laughing himself this time.

"You act as if those books are your entire world." He had never met someone as devoted to those books as Danny - especially Soundless Clock.

"They are." Danny sighed, looking back up at him. "I know you don't get it when I tell you this, but these books are- They were everything at one point for me. I mean- Jeez, Andy, when I first learned you wrote these I thought you were like J. K. Rowling or something!"

"I have more diversity." It seemed Danny didn't know whether to be amused or offended, but Andrew personally found his humor wonderful. "Thank you, Danny."

"Yeah. Of course." And now… "For what?" Adorable.

"Mm, everything, I suppose." Twenty years of being alone and forcing others away and then a silly little half ghost had crashed in, destroyed a novel, and changed everything.

"That's not fair." Danny blushed far too easily, really, but Andrew supposed it was adorable. "That's not fair, Andy."

"Whoever said a writer was fair?" Laughing as Danny huffed and grumbled to himself, Andrew continued on to his desk, pausing as he caught sight of some yellowed old papers out of the corner of his eyes. "Vidya, what are those?"

A strain of tumbled notes flew through his head, his lair just as confused over the sight as he was. Frowning, Andrew walked over and brushed the paper aside, curious when he saw a flash of white and then… Oh. "I remember you."

"Andy? What'd you find?" As Danny sat up on the couch, Andrew sat down on the floor and pulled out a sleek, white keyboard that wouldn't be out of place among today's computers. It looked the same as it had the day it was destroyed. "Is that your keyboard thing? Cool! I always felt kind of bad I busted it up."

"You did," Andrew said quietly, fingers brushing against the keys. He… He had stopped using it for writing only a few years after he found it and instead used the typewriter. A part of him, he supposed, liked to pretend he was still normal. Now, though? Andrew Riter had grown just as much as the Ghostwriter. "Screen."

A purple and green edged screen flickered out in front of him, Andrew laughing as Danny near fell off the couch to fly over to him. "I didn't know your keyboard could do that!"

"It could do a lot," Andrew smiled, the smile getting wide as Danny sat down and leaned against his side. "View saved documents." The window flicked up and Andrew paused at seeing there was only one file. "Well that can't be right."

"What? Is there supposed to be more?" Quite a few. Andrew had made hundreds before he put the keyboard away, so why was there only  _one_?

"Yes, there is." There was only one file, though, and it was one Andrew didn't remember. "From the Beginning." How strange a name. Still, though.

It couldn't hurt to take a peek.


	21. Limitless

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Prompt: Limitless

Rating: G+

Warnings: Hospitals and emotional manipulation

Author Notes: I'm not going to lie, this was ridiculously fun to write.

Summary: A portal accident had sent him to her and oh, there was such  _darkness_ in this one. She would have to make sure she cultivated it well. If she did this right, however, this poor boy would keep her young for  _decades_.

::

"I'm sorry, but he's just not ready to have visitors, yet. You have to understand, after what happened to him… There's a lot still left to his recovery."

"We understand, but  _please_. Can't we at least just see him? Just a glimpse?" The young woman in front of her was near  _begging_ , her misery near tangible around her. "It's my fault this happened!"

"It wasn't your fault." The man beside her was steeped in just as much misery and guilt, but his fear of what might happen next was the strongest there was. "We couldn't have known how dangerous the portal would be."

"Can… Can you at least give him this?" The woman held out a small package with a get well card resting on top of it. "It's just a few sweets and a scarf. I don't know if he can have it, yet, but the card-"

"I'll make sure he gets it, dear. Now, you two should go home and get some rest yourselves. I'm sure he'll contact you once his situation improves."

The woman looked ready to argue, but the man beside her wrapped an arm around her and pulled her away gently, "C'mon, Mads. Vladdie needs rest."

"Just make sure he gets that card, please." Their misery soaked the air as they walked away and disappeared around the corner, Spectra grinning sharp and pleased as she let the items burn in her hands, ghostly powers licking around it. She was so  _strong_ here.

"Don't worry, dear, Vlad Masters is going to be just fine." Dusting her hands free of the ash, Spectra straightened her outfit as she stepped back into the room.

"Who was that?" Ah, the hearing was settling in first, then. Interesting. It wouldn't be good to tell him that his closest friends had been outside the door, though.

"Nurses letting me know your condition. You're getting better, you know, Vlad. You really are." A hospital therapist. She should have thought of this  _years_ ago. Granted she had only died a few years ago, but time waited for no woman.

"Has- Has anyone visited, maybe? While I was asleep or out for treatments?" Faking a sympathetic smile, Spectra sat down on the edge of the bed.

"No one's visited, Vlad." The spike of misery and  _rage_ that tore through him was  _delicious_. It was typical for a person to feel drained and depressed once Spectra was done with them, but a special few… Oh, a special few came out with such well crafted wrath. "What are you feeling?"

"I… I'm feeling like I was wrong." Betrayal. He had spent weeks in intensive care and Spectra had latched onto him the second she had heard his story. It had so much potential-  _He_ had so much potential. "How could I have been so wrong about them?"

"Sometimes it takes something truly life changing for the realities of our lives to become clear." A lab accident had soaked the boy in ectoplasmic radiation and Spectra could feel the ghostly energy coming from him. Dead, but not dead. He wasn't quite ghostly, but oh, he was getting there. She was going to drain from him as much as she could.

"But they were always-  _He_ was always-" Vlad swallowed, Spectra holding back a coo at the tears that spilled over. Such pure, crystal clear sorrow. "We were brothers. Sometimes, it felt like we were more than that. How could he have just left me like that?"

"Oh, Vlad…" Spectra moved to sit closer, resting a hand on his shoulder and lightly digging her nails in. She felt it. "You have such limitless potential, Vlad." That rage, that sorrow, that betrayal, that  _power_. "If your friends can't even see that much, then, well… Maybe they weren't really your friends."

"They promised we'd stick together through everything." The rage was growing. "Did all those summers mean nothing?" It was building to a point not even Spectra would ever be able to drain all of  _that_ dry. "Are all those promises so easy to  _break_?"

It had been weeks of Vlad in the hospital and weeks of odd signs, but now Spectra saw bright streaks of ghostly energy running across his body. Pink. Interesting. Colors like that were usually indicative of a fire core- Ah. Wrath.

"Oh, Vlad. I know they were important to you, but you know what you can do?" The young man looked to her with such  _trust_. Spectra delighted in it. "You can prove them wrong by shining brighter than they ever will. You'll burn the brightest of them all." He would burn  _everything_.

"Yes… It was my theories and formulas that got us where we were. It was only because of me the portal even worked- Jack was probably the one to mess it all up." That wrath was bright and sharp and burning, but he needed something more. He needed to be more ghostly. He needed an  _obsession_.

"With your smarts, I'm sure you could do anything you put your mind to, Vlad. Maybe this is just what you needed to give you some perspective. Were they really your friends?"

"I… I thought they were." Not enough. She couldn't make him push them both away, but maybe just one would do.

"You mentioned one of them- Madeline? It sounds like you two were close." The look on his face was pure pain.

"We were supposed to be." Ah, lost love. Perfect. "She-  _They_  weren't supposed to- It's always meant to be the three of us. Then she started stealing all his attention."

"Did she? Or was he stealing hers?" True friendship was a hard bond to break, but nothing did it quite so amazing as a thought to be lost love. "A true friend would have realized how you felt about her." Close. She was close.

"It wasn't supposed to go this way. And now they just  _forgot_ about me? How could they just  _forget me_!" His eyes were swirling red and oh, that was as fine an obsession as any.

"Well, it seems like the answer to all your problems is rather clear to me." The streaks were all over his arms and he seemed to have finally noticed, eyes wide and surprised, but… They were still red. " _Make them pay_."

A man consumed with revenge over lost love and broken friendships… Now there was a meal that would keep her young for  _decades_.


	22. Your Words On My Skin

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Title: Your Words On My Skin

Alternate Universe: Soulmate AU - whatever you write or draw on your skin appears on the skin of your soulmate

Pairing: Pre Iambic Prose - Danny Phantom x Ghostwriter (Andrew Riter)

Rating: G+

Inspired By: Request given by aforetempus413

Summary: Danny Fenton was born with writing on his arms that proved he had a soulmate out there for him that was much,  _much_ older than his parents were comfortable with. The result was his skin being covered as much as possible and Danny warned that he shouldn't look at the words or write any back. Danny has always been a little bit curious as to who his soulmate was, but he never thought on how curious his soulmate was about him.

::

"Oh, Jack… Isn't he beautiful?" Maddie Fenton was exhausted, sweaty, and wanted nothing more than a very long bubble bath, but all of that was easily pushed to the side as she held her baby boy in her arms for the very first time. Jack was squeezed onto the bed beside her and already tearing up as he gently played with their baby's hand. "Our sweet little Daniel."

"Daniel James Fenton," Jack laughed, the noise quiet and rumbling in his chest as he squeezed them both close. "He's amazing, Mads." Nodding, Maddie paused as she saw something on the back of Danny's arm.

"Jack? What's that?" Maddie shifted Danny in her arms, Jack careful as he turned the baby's arm around and oh… Soulmate writing. "His soulmate is already born?"

"Could be a few years older than him," Jack mused. "Crazy timing, though. It usually takes a few years for writing to show up, doesn't it?"

"My sister had hers show up when she was a few months old, but Danny hasn't been here for even an hour." Carefully shifting her baby, Maddie took the arm and inspected it, heart dropping as she looked- As she  _read_ the writing. "Jack."

She wasn't sure if Jack tensed at her tone or the words, but they both saw it there clear as day. The words were cramped and close together on such a small arm, but there were  _sentences_. Full, complete, and complex sentences were winding their way around Danny's arms and the sight filled Maddie with a crushing fear and motherly instinct to hide her baby's skin as quickly as possible. "Just how much older is his soulmate…?"

Doodles and maybe a few words would be nothing. It would have been fun to take pictures of all the words and show Danny when he was older, but this? This wasn't the writing of a five-year-old, or a ten-year-old, and seeing some of the words used that she hadn't even known until  _college_ \- "Oh, Danny."

Her son had only just been born and it looked like his soulmate had been in the world already for quite a while. By the time Danny was fifteen, how old would his soulmate be? Thirty? Fourty? Older? She couldn't… Soulmates were precious, but they were all still so human. She couldn't put her baby through that.

"Mads?" Jack rubbed at her arm, Maddie looking down to where a half-scribbled science formula was written across both their arms. Soulmates were precious, but if it was between that and her baby's safety… "Maddie, I know what you're thinking."

"Just until he's older." If Danny grew up with that, then parents and children alike would judge him. They would  _torment_ him. "We can cover up his arms and make sure he's covered just until he's a little bit older. Until we can explain it to him. Not all soulmate matches are perfect."

Jack didn't say anything, but Maddie knew that he knew the same as her. Danny having a mate that was so much older than him would be hell. They could just… They would wrap up his arms and encourage him to stay covered until he was older. Hopefully- Hopefully he would be able to forgive him.

"Oh, my sweet baby boy." Maddie reached for the baby blanket that had been left for them, wrapping Danny up in it until not a bit of skin besides his face showed. "Don't you worry, Danny. We'll keep you safe."

And that's what Maddie Fenton did for years. She made sure to keep Danny's arms covered with clothes, bandages, or gloves, she always told him that it was important that no one see his skin if he could help it, and she gave him as many notebooks and sketchbooks as possible so he would always have something around him to write properly on. She even made him necklaces out of pens and pencils.

She knew it was wrong of her to hide his soulmate from him and to keep him from ever letting his soulmate know he was there, but she would rather suffer that sin than see her baby be hurt. There was a chance his soulmate was closer to his age and had merely been a child genius, but that was a very low chance and not one she was willing to risk.

It was horrible of her, but she kept her son as safe as possible and always made sure his sister knew what was at risk. She, Jack, and Jazz were the only ones to know why Danny needed to keep his skin covered, and if she had her way, they would be the only three to ever know. Soulmates weren't the end of it all - there were people who were happy and weren't soulmates. There were people who never had a soulmate. There were billions of people and she was positive her baby would find happiness even without a soulmate in his life. Danny didn't need a soulmate to be happy.

That didn't mean Danny wasn't curious about it all, though. He knew he had to keep his skin covered for some reason and he wasn't allowed to write or draw anything on it, but that didn't stop him from studying other people's skin.

He loved watching words and drawings appear on the skin of others, or watching a tic tac toe game play out across skin. It was fun to see a string of letters and numbers start out on his mom's arm before being finished by his dad later that day when his mom was cooking dinner. He loved seeing Tucker's doodles of computers and wires and game controllers being taken over by vines and flowers and sassy little remarks. He loved when Sam looked at him and made a shushing motion each and every time before pushing her sleeves down low enough to hide even her fingers.

The idea of writing something on his skin and having someone see it - someone who was meant for him see it - was an amazing idea. He knew his parents, though, and he knew better than to try something. It was possible that maybe he was allergic to ink, so they kept him from writing so he wouldn't hurt himself and they kept him from watching his skin so he didn't get disappointed. Or maybe writing on his skin hurt his soulmate and his parents had figured it out and wanted to protect them both.

People always found it a little odd he kept his skin so covered, but others did similar so he at least wasn't the odd one out. Besides, it wasn't like he was dying to know. He was curious and found it interesting, but not knowing wasn't affecting his life.

"Danny? You alright?" Glancing over to Sam where she was drawing vines destroying a computer on her arm, Danny gave a weak smile.

"Yeah. Just thinking." Alright, maybe it was affecting his life a little. "Hey, Sam?" Waiting until she hummed, Danny sighed. "Why don't you ever tell him?"

"I like watching him struggle to figure it out. It's fun to see his frustration," Sam snickered, Danny trying not to laugh. "Besides, if he can't match up handwriting, then he's not ready to know."

"You just like watching him suffer." The other didn't deny it, Danny hiding a smile. "Don't you ever want him to know, though? I mean, you two are soulmates."

"Yeah, but we're friends first." Friends first. That was a good way of looking at it. "I don't know if I love him like that, so I'm content to just wait and see where things go."

"You know, most people blush or avoid talking about stuff like this." Wrinkling his nose as it was poked with the blunt side of the pen she was using, Danny stuck his tongue out. "You think you'll ever tell him?"

"Do you think you'll ever look at your skin?" Ah… Vicious as always. "You know, you could just  _ask_ your parents why you have to go through all of this."

"I could, but they probably have a reason for all this and they'll pull their 'you're not old enough' excuse out." Ah, Danny was getting too good at lying. "Besides, what soulmate would want someone who's half  _ghost_?"

"Shut up, you're great and your powers are cool." The two sat up as Lancer walked into the classroom, Sam side glaring at him. "You should ask them."

"I'll think about it." He wouldn't ask, though. It wasn't that his parents had a good reason, which they might, but… Danny was afraid of them  _not_ having a good reason.

He would be fine. Soulmates weren't all that important after all, right?

::

"You know, there's a reason I keep bringing you back notebooks. Have you ever considered maybe  _using_  one?"

"Mm, why waste the paper?" Andrew jotted down his latest idea across the back of his arm, the rest of it already filled with bits of dialogue that he could use within the story itself. "I'll transfer it over soon, anyways."

"Yes, that's what all my complaining is about. Wasting paper." Pausing in his writing, Andrew swallowed before continuing on and ignoring his brother as best as possible. It was rather hard considering Randy didn't know the meaning of the word 'silence.' "You're going to have to talk about it eventually, you know."

"I could, but we both know that I'm not going to." Finishing the last line with a flourish, Andrew capped his pen and looked up at Randy. He made sure to keep his expression as neutral as possible. "When are you going to let all of this go?"

"When are you going to listen to me?" Uncapping the pen, Andrew met Randy's gaze evenly before darting forward with as much speed as he could. The pen didn't even touch Randy's skin before he was on the floor, Randy sitting on his back and no doubt smirking. "Is this your way of asking to start training sessions back up?"

"No, this would be me telling you to go burn in hell." Throwing his energy out to wrap around the closest book he could, Andrew pressed his first two fingers together and flicked them to the side sharply and snickered when he heard Randy yelp. "Please keep in mind we are in a library and I can keep this up all day."

"Cheater." Randy floated off of him before dragging him back to his feet, Andrew huffing as he started to cap his pen before pausing and scribbling something else down on the back of his hand. "Maybe I should just tie a notebook around your neck. Use a nice strong chain."

"I'd break it within two seconds." Wiggling free, Andrew shook Randy off and adjusted his clothes. "I don't see why you continue to want to discuss this. It's been decades and the same conversation every single time."

"Oh? So you're completely over it, then." Both looked to where Andrew's skin was filled with his writings and quick scribbles - and only his. Shaking his sleeves down, Andrew quickly headed for one of the study rooms in his lair, knowing Randy was following him from the simple fact it was  _Randy_. "Andy-"

"Oh, please, spare me. There's nothing that can be people have soulmates and others don't and I'm someone who doesn't need a soulmate. I've never needed one." Brushing off Randy's look a bit less effectively this time, Andrew only shook his head and continued on.

He didn't need a soulmate after what he had gone through in his life- In his  _death_. He was used to the silence and stillness of words never being returned. Besides, he didn't need someone pure and untainted knowing what he had  _done_. There was a reason he went by the name Ghostwriter, now. He didn't need anyone else to ever know who he was- He didn't need anyone to know what he had  _done_.

The lack of a soulmate had made him the most effective assassin there had ever been in his time and now he had moved past that and he was an effective and dedicated writer. That was all that mattered. Effective was all he had ever needed to be.

"You've always wanted one, though." Of course, Randy was effective in the way that he would never let this go. Turning back to throw a glare at him as menacing as possible, Andrew near flinched at the gentle look that was aimed at him. "You care too much, frérot. Your heart is far too big."

"Heart?  _Heart_?" Please. "You, grand frère, made sure I didn't  _have_ a heart." Turning on his heel, Andrew glared as Randy stumbled in his steps, viciously pleased at the hurt in his eyes. "What I write on my skin is of no matter to anyone but myself. Do you know why? Because it's  _mine_. My words, my worries, my fears, my thoughts,  _my skin_. It belongs to no one but myself and it is  _mine_. I have no need of a  _soulmate_."

"That doesn't stop you from wanting one, though." Ready to snap back, Andrew stopped when Randy shook his head. "Andy, look at where you write, sometimes. You write on your palms, the back of your hands, as far up your neck as you can. You write wherever there's a  _chance_ of it being seen. You wouldn't do that if you had accepted it."

"Like you're any different." Randy's skin was perfectly clean with not a spot of ink anywhere on him. "You used to draw on yourself all the time."

"I did. Then I grew up." Randy said it without a scrap of bitterness- He said it so  _casually_. He said it as if he had accepted it and was okay with it. He… "Like I said, Andy. Your heart was always too big."

As always, the fight drained out of Andrew as he fell forward, leaning his forehead against Randy's shoulder. "That's fighting dirty." Randy laughed against him, hugging him tightly. "You think I would be used to the fact that life isn't fair for me."

"That's what makes it all so fun, though." Mm, he begged to differ. "You know, I really only came by to make sure you were eating before heading off on my next job."

"Didn't you just get back from the last one?" Andrew gave Randy as judging a look as he could, pleased when Randy looked away first. "You're running yourself ragged."

"Last one and then I'll spend a few weeks annoying the shit out of you. It should only last a few days. It's a relic hunt." Mhm. For Randy, a relic hunt usually meant a good chance of almost dying at least three times - maybe more. "I'll make whatever you want for lunch?"

"Better." Andrew pushed himself off of Randy before pushing at him even more. "Go on, then. You know what I want by now."

"So demanding," Randy tsked, grinning anyways as he destroyed Andrew's hair with his fingers before flying off. "Don't get lost in your books, nerd!"

Waiting until Randy was truly gone to let his smile drop, Andrew sighed as he looked down to where he had scribbled a few words on his palm. Randy was right, at least. He  _did_ write in places where it would be easy to notice - not that anything ever came of it.

At first he thought his soulmate merely hadn't been born yet, but he had grown older and older and there had been no answering scribbles or drawings in reply to his own. Then he had died and all hopes had died with him - more so when he met ghosts who still  _got_ markings from their soulmates.

There was no chance of his soulmate being younger than him when Andrew had been waiting for  _decades_ \- And if his soulmate was born before Andrew then they had never bothered to contact them. Or perhaps, fittingly enough, they had died before communication could be had. That would be Andrew's luck… That would be the Priest of Death's luck.

Whatever the case was, Andrew had no soulmate and he needed to accept it and move on before he let it tear him apart. He couldn't keep living with the idea that a part of him would never be complete because he would never meet his other half. It was a stupid way of thinking, anyways. It was a  _weak_ way of thinking. He needed to be better than this. He needed to be  _stronger_ than this.

"Make sure you write down that idea before it rubs off!" Not bothering to suppress a smile, Andrew sighed as he went to search for a notebook. "And stop writing on your palms before your lair yells at you for getting ink everywhere!"

Besides, he didn't need a soulmate. He had Randy looking out for him and the two of them were just fine - just like they had always been. They were fine. Things were  _fine_.

Maybe if he told himself that enough times he would believe it.

::

"Oh, come on… How am I supposed to remember all of this?" Danny felt something close to hopeless defeat at the string of numbers and letters that was Vlad's password into his servers and databases and just what they needed to see what the man was up to now. "Dammit, Vlad."

Of course Vlad had to come up with a password that was more complicated than anything else he had ever seen. Maybe it would be fine if Danny could use a piece of paper and a pen to write it down, but this was  _Vlad_. The second something went missing or was out of place he would know about it and then he would know that Danny had been there snooping. He could use his phone- Oh, wait, no, he couldn't, because Tucker had  _disassembled it_.

Tugging at his hair in frustration, Danny near screamed as he realized there was no way of getting that password without writing it down on  _something_ \- Danny looked down at his arms and the pen that was hanging around his neck. If he… If he wrote it down on his skin now, then he could write it down on paper as soon as he got home.

"Okay. Okay, think this through, Fenton. If you write on your skin then it's possible your soulmate will see it. That could be good?" Or… "Or you could be hurting yourself or your soulmate by writing on your skin. Right. Great. Brilliant. Just  _perfect_."

Time limit. Vlad would figure out the distraction was a distraction soon enough and Danny needed to be gone before that happened, so he needed to do something  _now_ \- "Oh, Mom and Dad are so going to kill me for this."

Tearing his glove off, Danny pushed the sleeve of his suit up and grabbed the pen around his neck, looking for a blank spot to write the password down and pausing at seeing how his arm was  _covered_ in writing. He knew he had a soulmate that was always writing - it was hard not to know something like that when showering and getting dressed every day, but he had never really thought about how  _much_ his soulmate wrote.

Curiosity already taking over, Danny slid off his other glove and stared at how there was just as much writing, although the writing on his left arm was a little bit neater. His soulmate must be right… Right handed. Huh. Danny knew something about his soulmate. Danny knew that his soulmate was right handed. It was such a stupid little thing to get excited about, but he knew something about his  _soulmate_.

"At least you shouldn't feel any pain from words appearing on your skin," Danny mused, pen held loosely in his fingers as he looked at the strings of  _sentences_ wrapped around him. There was so much that was written down.

'" _I promised myself I would never fall for anyone. I wasn't look to fall and then I met you and oh, god, I lost so badly."_ ' ' _The air seemed to freeze and still inside his lungs, Ab unable to even move as the words rang through his mind. Two words, yet they carried with them the promise of everything._ ' ' _Andrea pressed her back up against the stone bricks and held her breath, heart near shaking in her chest as she heard heavy steps follow after her. If she was found now… It would all be over._ ' '" _Oh, Mason… You've always wanted to find the truth behind Mavis. You've always wanted to help her. You heart, little brother, is far too big."_ '

They were stories. Everything on his arms were snippets and excerpts from what seemed to be story after story after story and they were all- They were all absolutely amazing. Each snippet seemed like a story in of itself and Danny wanted to know more- He wanted to read  _more_. Maybe he could write a message and ask his soulmate to write a bit more of the stories?

Maybe- No. No, no, no, he wasn't- He wasn't even supposed to be  _looking_ at his skin. He wasn't supposed to be looking at any of this! Chewing at his lip and pulling his glove over his right hand, Danny looked back to his left and this was a bad idea. He could always break into Vlad's lab and get the password another time, but if he wrote anything down then his soulmate would know he was out there. His soulmate would know that  _he_ was out there. That there was a match for him. That… Fifteen years and there hadn't been a single spot of ink that hadn't been put there by his soulmate, so if they saw something now and then nothing after that… Not even Danny could be that cruel.

"Sorry." He wasn't apologizing to his soulmate. Gripping his pen tightly, Danny quickly scribbled the password he needed across his left palm, right where there was free space and right where it would be seen as clearly and quickly as possible. He would have to figure out what to tell his parents later, but for now Danny tucked his glove back over his hand and capped his pen.

He wasn't sure how he got out of Vlad's mansion so quickly or how he got back to Amity Park so fast, but it seemed between one moment and the next he was sitting in Sam's room and copying down the password in one of his notebooks.

"You actually wrote something down on your skin. You never write on your skin. Holy shit, why do you have so much  _written_ on your skin?" Tucker was near bouncing around him as he fretted and worried, Danny doing his best not to laugh.

"It was an emergency." Tearing the paper off and handing it up to Tucker, Danny stared at the palm of his hand for a moment longer before grinning. He didn't bother to scrub the letters and numbers away. "I don't see why you're freaking out. You write on your skin all the time."

"Yeah, but  _you_ don't!" Mm. He hadn't, at least. "Dude, your parents and sister are gonna flip. They're always so paranoid about your skin being covered. I mean- I thought it was just where your soulmate kept writing swear words or something."

"Nice, Tuck. Real classy," Sam snorted, sleeves tucked under her fingers as she grinned at Danny. "Having fun being the rebel, then?"

"Sam, come on." Danny grinned, leaning back against the bed and knocking into Sam's legs from where she was sitting down. "When don't I?"

"If your sister tries to kill me over this, then I'm revoking your best friend status." Tucker studied the piece of paper for a moment before heading over to Sam's computer. "Sam, I'm using your computer."

"You could ask, you know." The two watched as Tucker stared at them both before flicking the computer on. "Ass."

"You love me for it." Seeing the sappy look Sam was getting, Danny cleared his throat. "Right. Your soulmate problems."

"I wouldn't call them problems." At the dual looks, Danny stuck his tongue out. "Shut up. It's just- It's complicated, but it's not really a  _problem_." Not yet, anyways.

"It might be when your soulmate finally sees you wrote something back." Shit. He hadn't really thought that far, yet. "There's still time for you to erase it, you know. Cover your arms back up and ignore it all."

"That…" Danny looked down at his arms, his coat on the ground beside him and leaving his skin bare to the world. "I don't think I can do that, Sammy." Beautiful lines of stories he wanted to know more than anything twirled around his skin in such a way that they looked like tattoos with how uniform and pressed together the words were. "That seems…"

"Like you'd be running away?" No- Yes, but also no. It was that, but it was more than that, too. It was so much more than that.

"That seems cruel." His soulmate wrote so much. His entire body was filled with words and Danny knew with everything in him that it was to try and grab the attention of whoever had the words mirrored on their own skin. "That seems way too cruel."

"And finally replying back with a random string of letters and numbers isn't?" Pausing at that, Danny looked back to his left palm and- And shit. That- Fuck.

"I don't think I thought this one through very well." Because it would be one thing to say hi, or yell at the other for writing so much, or even write down a list of things to buy, but writing something so random? "How much do you think my soulmate will hate me for this?"

"Oh, Danny." Sam leaned over and ruffled his hair fiercely, Danny whining and trying to fight her off even as he fought against the laughter that came bubbling up. "I don't think you have to worry about your soulmate hating you."

::

It wasn't making sense. No matter how much Andrew counted every single object in the room or pinched himself or even poked himself with one of his knives, he wasn't waking up. He was contemplating throwing himself off somewhere very tall when Randy walked in and ah, perfect, another way to wake himself up. "I need you to shoot me."

To dream Randy's credit, the man didn't automatically turn into something strange or start lecturing him on his choice in reading material. He was acting very much like real Randy, though, in the way he took a few steps back, checked to make sure his guns were holstered, and gave Andrew a look as if he was insane.

"It'll make sense when I wake up- Or I suppose it won't for you, really, since you're merely a dream manifestation of my real brother."

"I would ask how much you've had to drink, but I'm not sure if I should be worried about alcohol or caffeine. You do know ghosts aren't immune to the effects of those things, right?" Hm, his dream was quite realistic this time around, wasn't it? "Andy, why do you want me to shoot you?"

"Because I'm dreaming and I would quite like to wake up. Used to I could do it by realizing I was in a dream by flying, but obviously I can't do that anymore." Shame, too. That was always the quickest way to wake himself up. "So I figure having you shoot me will trigger a traumatic enough memory that I'll be forced awake."

"Yeah, okay, I see your point, but say you  _weren't_ dreaming and you asked me to shoot you." Unlikely. "And then say I actually shot you to prove a point. I don't think you'd be the only one dealing with something traumatic."

"Good point, except for the fact it's hypothetical and I'm  _dreaming_." Seeing that the other was about to ask why he thought he was dreaming, Andrew held his left palm up and glared. "This showed up on my hand."

"Yes, and? Words typically show up on your hand when you write them- Did you go on a writing binge, again?"

"Yes- No, that's not the point-  _Randy_." Andrew walked forward and held his palm up in front of Randy's face. "This isn't my handwriting. These aren't my letters. I didn't write this.  _I_ didn't  _write this_ and it's not coming off no matter how hard I scrub at it."

"You…" The dream manifestation of Randy, because he had to be dreaming  _he had to_ , stared before grabbing his wrist and flipping his hand around to study the string of letters and numbers more closely. "A code?"

"I don't know. I was reaching for a book, I saw something on my palm, I wanted to make sure it wasn't an idea, and then I saw  _that_. So, before my hopes get any higher, I would like to wake up now."

"Andy…" No- No, see, that was a look very close to pity and Andrew didn't want it. Andrew didn't  _want_ a look like that. Not now. Not ever. "Andy, mon petit, you're not asleep."

"I have to be because I didn't write this. This isn't my lettering so I have to be  _asleep_." He didn't have a soulmate. Andrew Claude Riter didn't have a soulmate so why were words appearing on his skin? It didn't make sense. It  _couldn't_ make sense.

Instead of agreeing with him or saying something random that didn't make sense like a dream should, Randy only held his hand between the both of his and squeezed lightly. "Andy. Andy, this isn't a dream. You're awake."

"I'm…" Andrew watched as Randy freed a hand before giving a little flick. A pen appeared between his fingers before he was pressing it into Andrew's palm and letting go completely. "I'm awake."

"You're awake. So… What are you going to do about it?" His soulmate- His  _soulmate_ had just written something on his skin- Their skin. He… He had a soulmate. "You could always write something back."

"I- Why? Why now?" It had been- Andrew hadn't been alive for long and he had been dead for so much longer, so why  _now_ would his soulmate's words show up on his skin? "I've been writing for years so why would they write something now- It isn't even a word! It's just- Just some code!"

"That sounds like something you should ask your soulmate." Randy hesitated for a moment before patting at Andrew's cheek. "Does it matter if it's late if it's the happiness you want?"

"I…" Andrew watched as Randy gave him a smile, as if he had heard the answer he was waiting for, before walking off and away from him. "Randy?"

"I think I'll make us some dinner. It should take a while, so maybe find something to do in the meantime until it's done, yeah?" Randy tossed out a wave as Andrew looked back down to the pen he was still holding.

By the time he looked back up Randy was already gone, Andrew left staring at the doorway in slight frustration. "One day, I'll get the last word in." Uncapping the pen, Andrew looked down at his palm and okay. Okay, his soulmate was looking, now. He didn't- This shouldn't be something crazy or extravagant. He probably shouldn't yell about the long silence, either. At least, not yet. Okay, then. Something simple. Easy? Something that could be said in a word or two that was short, concise, and to the point. Something his soulmate wouldn't be scared responding to.

' _Hello_.' There. Right under the code and- Code. Was this a test? Would his soulmate not talk to him again unless he passed a test and figured out what that code meant? It seemed unlikely, but Andrew was also a ghost, so he was willing to have a little faith in strange things happening. Furthermore, was his  _soulmate_ a ghost? Maybe that's why they never wrote back. Maybe they thought it would hurt because they were dead and their soulmate was alive- So why now? Why this silly string of characters that made no sense?

"This probably won't work, you know. Nothing will come of it!" At least when Randy was here he could pretend he was rambling at him instead of to himself or his lair. "This is stupid, Randy!" Andrew threw himself into a nearby armchair, glaring at his palm. " _You're_ stupid."

A string of letters and numbers and right underneath it were five letters written small and cramped. Andrew kind of regretted writing the word that small. What if his soulmate missed it? What if they didn't see it? It wasn't like it would be easy to pick out such a small word among so  _many_.

"This is stupid." Why should he even care, anymore? He had made peace with not having a soulmate. He had accepted it and moved- Alright, he might not have moved on, but he had  _accepted it_. He wasn't supposed to care. He wasn't supposed to clutch a pen tight enough to break and stare at his palm as if it had the answer to every question in the universe. He was- He was supposed to- To do anything but that!

 _Fuck_ , he shouldn't have even wrote that hello on his palm. Now his soulmate knew he was watching and what did he do now? Did they try to find out who the other was? Would his soulmate even tell him why he had been kept waiting for  _so long_?

"Randy, I changed my mind! Do you have a wet washcloth!" Predictably, there was nothing but silence and, if he listened carefully enough, the sound of something cooking in the kitchen. Andrew didn't want to say he was bitter, but he was bitter. "Fat lot of help you are, then."

Closing his palm, Andrew groaned and threw his head back, staring up at the ceiling. "Do you think I'm mad for wanting this too, then?" His beautiful lair sang a response within his mind, notes played upon a violin tumbling through his head and bringing with it a tone of  _don't worry you're okay you're safe it's okay you can be happy you're safe it's okay_. Andrew rather hated how much it made him relax.

"It's stupid. It's stupid wanting this so much." He was just going to be disappointed in the end. That's how it would go just as that was how it always went. He would probably have that hello on there for the rest of his unnatural life. He would always be waiting for a response that would never come.

"Why am I like this…" Looking back to his hand, Andrew uncurled his palm, looking at his… Two new letters. Two tiny letters written in black ink with a no doubt shaky hand. They were two letters written just for him-  _To_ him.

' _Hi._ '


	23. What Does Death Dream Of?

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Title: What Does Death Dream Of?

Alternate Universe: Post show / Phantom Planet Was A Lie And A Mistake

Pairing: Implied Iambic Pose - Danny Fenton/Ghostwriter

Rating: T

Warnings: Implied Major Character Death (Nothing explicitly shown)

Inspired By: My girlfriend challenging me to write a 200-300 word drabble with nothing except dialogue when I teased her about her own writing. What's good, babe?

Summary: Danny is having just another conversation with Clockwork in the Citadel, but he doesn't remember when he got there. That's odd, isn't it?

::

"Clockwork… When did I get here? I mean, I know we're at your Citadel, but I don't remember getting here."

"You don't remember? You're visiting at the moment. You're not disappointed or bored, are you? I thought you enjoyed Citadel."

"Oh- N- No, I do, I just… I don't remember how I got here. That's weird, isn't it? I mean, it's weird. I remember that I was leaving Sam and Tucker's after one of our gaming tournaments and I was going to head home and then go straight to Andrew's- You know, Ghostwriter? I don't remember what happened after that."

"I'm well aware of Ghostwriter's true name, just as I'm aware that it seems you're more tired than you've been letting yourself believe. Have you been getting nightmares, again?"

"Come on, Clockwork. I know you worry, but I'm seventeen. Nightmares aren't something to worry about anymore."

"Daniel."

"Yeah… I mean, I've gotten a few. They're never gonna come true, though, so I don't see why I need to even worry about it."

"What are your nightmares about, Daniel? Ghosts?"

"Yeah, right. I think those are more good dreams than bad ones, these days. No, it's… It's always the same dream, I think. If they're different then they don't change much. It… It starts with me coming home from… something. I never remember what."

"I've been assured from a reliable source that that can be rather normal of dreams. Go on. What happens next in your dreams?"

"Oh, well, uh, I come home, and I change back to my human side while I'm outside before going in. Something's wrong, though, and the alarms go off."

"Did a ghost break in?"

"Sort of. It's hard to tell, but I know that the alarms are reacting to me. So, uh, I try to change back so I can leave the house, but before I can, Mom and Dad are in front of me with their weapons and suits and everything."

"They're looking for the ghost that triggered the alarm, I take it?"

"Yeah, except in the nightmare I'm always the ghost. I'm still Fenton, but now their tech is reacting to me, which it never used to do. So, I'm trying to think of a way to explain, but then they won't listen to me."

"Daniel… What happens next in your dream?"

"They won't listen to me even as I try to explain about the portal and the changing and the science and everything. They're just screaming at me to give them back their son. I don't know what to do, and in the dream, I always freeze up, unable to say anything else."

"And then?"

"One of them fires a weapon at me. I don't feel the pain, but I know it hurts. A lot. After that, I wake up."

"Not a very happy nightmare, is it? It sounds like you could use some time to simply rest and not dream."

"Yeah… Yeah, maybe. Hey, Clockwork?"

"Yes, Daniel?"

"When did I get here?"


	24. It Took Me By Surprise

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Title: It Took Me By Surprise

Rating: T

Warnings: Mentions of death, murder, and blood

Inspired By: [artistically-gay.tumblr.com/post/180906397891/it-took-me-by-surprise-the-hatred-in-his-eyes-i](artistically-gay.tumblr.com/post/180906397891/it-took-me-by-surprise-the-hatred-in-his-eyes-i)

Summary: Ghostwriter knows of his past well and he knows how good he and his brother were together. He thinks that it's long since been time for them to go back to that.

::

"We should wait." The words were almost drowned out with how quietly they were said, Andrew's fingers slipping against cool gray steel and pulling out a few droplets of what was now his blood - ectoplasm. Ectoplasm was the name of it, now. He paid it no mind and instead let his neutral gaze slip into a glare. "We still don't know how many-"

"We've had worse odds," Andrew snapped, sitting up more so he could see over the edge of the shattered rocks they were planted on, a lair just in their sight. "He's  _right there_. I can kill him myself." This was his first mission in such a long time, after all, and he wanted to make it count.

"Andrew." There was no White Fang tonight, just an unsure and unsteady Randy who looked like he wanted nothing more than to return to Andrew's own lair and forget this whole night. Andrew felt his irritation grow. Randy never  _could_ realize the good they were doing, in the old days, and now it seemed he still didn't understand. "It's dangerous."

"Stop being so hesitant." Standing up, Andrew readjusted his hold on one of his throwing knives, feeling the ectoplasm at the tip of his fingers gather even more as he ran them along the edge. "I'll kill him with or without your help." Their target was a ghost, after all. This had only been borrowed time and nothing more.

Randy was silent and still beside him, uncertain look on his face finally fading into something blank and calm as he stood up as well. Two guns, both black and sleek as a piece of the sky, were clasped loosely in his hands. "As you wish." The words were said softly, but not whispered. Andrew grinned.

"Good evening, White Fang." Now this was going to be  _fun_. It had been such a long time since the Priest had been able to play with his White Fang, after all. "Death never could take you forever."

There was no word of defense or protest in any manner, Randy clasping his guns more tightly before launching forward, Andrew taking a moment to admire him before following after. There was no care for the long years that had taken place between now and then. There was only a mission, a target, and his blood slick against his knives.

::

" _Stop leaving me out of things_!" Andrew's words were shrieked and torn out of him like glass from a wound, the words bouncing off the walls of his lair as he glared at Randy with everything in him. "You always do this! You always run away!"

"I've done nothing but try to keep you  _safe_!" Randy snapped back, face etched into a snarl as he stalked forward, pointing at Andrew. " _You're_ the one who wants to run away from the truth of things!"

"Me-  _Me_?! I'm not the one who made us run away from home! I'm not the one who ran away from me that day on the docks! I'm not the one who ran away when we tried to find each other!" Andrew didn't bother trying to quiet himself, only screaming louder and louder as he felt tears start to cloud over his vision.

"Andy…" Randy looked like he was being hit with too many emotions at once, Andrew not able to muster up any of the guilt or pity that he would usually feel. Let Randy feel like this. It was what he deserved for trying to abandon him again. "I'm not- I'm not trying to run away from you."

"Then what  _are_ you doing, Randy?" Andrew let the tears fall, knowing that the path they burned down his skin would be felt even worse by the man in front of him. "If not from me, then what  _are_ you trying to run away from?"

"I…" Randy still couldn't find the words, and Andrew still couldn't find the way to make him talk. No matter what button he seemed to press on Randy to trigger something, none of them ever let him  _in_. "Forget it. I'll stay here."

"I don't want you to leave," Andrew said quietly, knowing he was flushed from crying and feeling how his voice wanted to break and crack. "Is that so wrong?"

"No. I guess not. I'll stay, Andy." There. Nothing to worry about. Randy just needed to remember that they were supposed to be in this together.

::

It wasn't hard to make the small changes he wanted - all without Randy really noticing. They may have been ghosts, but it wasn't too difficult to grow out his hair into a nice, short ponytail. It earned him a few odd looks when Randy first saw it, but he didn't question it, in the end.

After that, it was easy. Black started replacing the gray in his wardrobe before it began replacing the purple, as well. It was so much nicer to look down and see himself wearing black instead of that dismal gray he had fooled himself into liking.

Soon he began wearing his knife pouch again, the pouch firmly strapped to his leg and in just the perfect reach of being able to grab a knife out of it. If he started carrying the knives again, too, well… Randy never said anything.

Then he started humming that song that had been hidden for so long and even that fell on deaf ears. Oh, Andrew certainly saw the looks he was given, but Randy never did anything to stop him, and Andrew had never brought it up.

"Andrew?" He tried, occasionally, but never for long. "Are you, uh… Did your coat get damaged or anything? The purple one? I could fix it up for you, if you want."

"I just thought I could use some change," Andrew smiled, the smile soon dropping. "Do you not like it?"

"It's just… familiar, is all." The comment had Andrew fighting to hide a smirk. Poor White Fang had been chained away for far too long, this time. Andrew needed to start pulling him out. He must have gotten lost in his thoughts, because Randy took his silence as an end to the conversation. "Nevermind. I guess it's just my imagination."

"I know what you're thinking," Andrew muttered, letting the tears come to his eyes – tears that he knew were  _acidic_. "Do you really think I would go back to that so easily?" Randy had never responded to his tears, but White Fang always answered.

"No- Andy, that's not what- Of course not." Randy struggled through the words, but Andrew could see the flash of White Fang curled up in his eyes. Andrew wanted him back. He was so sick of this charade of pretending they were  _normal_.

"Don't bother. I know what you think of me." Andrew walked off, giving Randy something to think about as he soon went back to humming. He had no doubt it wouldn't be long now.

::

It wasn't supposed to be like this, though. When it happened, it wasn't supposed to be like  _this_. It was supposed to be the Priest and White Fang standing together, claws ready to strike and fangs ready to tear. They were supposed to be a team. They were meant to be a  _team_.

It wasn't supposed to end with Andrew pinned to the ground and a hand around his throat cutting off any hope of air. If he were human, Andrew had little doubt that he would already be dead. " _You stupid child_." There was no Randy on top of him. There was only a ferocious White Fang with nothing except hatred in his eyes.

Andrew couldn't drag in the breath he needed to form words, forced to do nothing but stare up at White Fang as he pressed him down into the ground, blood (or was it ectoplasm?) covering them both. White Fang had been many things, but he had never been angry. This was anger. This was  _anger_.

" _We could have been happy. We were surviving. Why would you_ _ **take us back**_." The words were hissed in French, a language that had once meant warmth and comfort and now only filled Andrew's stomach with cold dread. " _You stupid,_ _ **stupid**_ _child_."

It took longer than he wanted, but it wasn't just anger in White Fang's eyes. It was White Fang's anger, but it was Randy's fear. Did… he really not want to return to how they used to be? He had never complained in the past. Did Andrew really push him so far that he hadn't even been able to say no?

There was hatred in White Fang's eyes and fear in Randy's. Andrew couldn't breathe and there was ectoplasm (blood) covering them with old weapons just in reach. Andrew could only stare as he took it all in, utterly surprised, because, well. White Fang's hatred he could have handled, but Randy's fear of  _him_?

The hand around his throat loosened, White Fang gone and Randy left looking at him with shaking shoulders. "We could have been happy, Andy."

Well… If Andrew was reduced to nothing but the murderer, then at least he had a liar standing beside him.


End file.
